Stop the Sleaze
Let’s just say that the minimayor system of 10 council districts has created an entertaining process. I’ve seen ugly council races in the past where some candidates have gotten the whole slew of dirty tricks, from the race card being played to signs stolen and hit-piece mailers with misleading statements arriving too late for any rebuttal. At this point in time, for at least one major constituency, the unionized public employees, the stakes are actually pretty big, and the votes against reform are weaker and weaker.
I think people are smarter than the political schemers give them credit for. The chaos and deception depress the quantity of voters as people turn-off, tune-out, etc. But it increases the quality of votes by those who have cultivated civic responsibility, which includes taking the time to make an informed decision on electoral matters.
The anonymous slander, however, is criminal and needs to be treated as such. Putting out a “so and so is a communist” mailer in Vietnamese is really sleazy. I’d like to see what the Vietnamese press reports about these deceptive practices because I suspect Vietnamese-Americans are smart and savvy enough to see through this lame stuff (I’m hoping).
Blair Whitney
Street Bashing
I’ve had friends and neighbors tell me stories about what some of the candidates themselves are saying about their opponents, when they walk door to door. One District 9 candidate said that one of his opponents walked his street bashing him! How dumb can you get? I had one African American friend tell me one of the board of supervisors’ candidates (running for Gage’s seat) walked up to her door and automatically assumed that because she is black that she was voting for Forrest Williams. This idiot, before knowing my friend’s concerns, had the nerve to say, “Well, you’re probably voting for Forrest, but I hope you’ll keep an open mind.” I have to wonder what kind of political consultants these candidates have. My friend said that she walked into her house, picked up her ballot and voted for Forrest. Not because he or she is black, but because she refused to vote for someone that bigoted.
Kathleen Flynn
The Outsiders
I love how Xavier Campos derides Magdalena Carrasco as “an outsider.” Earth to Xavier: We don’t all have the luxury of being able to try to succeed our sister on the City Council.
Kevin O’Keeffe
