June Ballot- Part 2
Most of the county races are pretty boring. Most are incumbents and uncontested. Here's the list:
Assessor- Mari Wilson, incumbent
Coroner, Public Administrator- Dave Parris, incumbent
Recorder, Registrar of Voters- Kelly Sanders
Sheriff- Mike Downey, incumbent
Treasurer, Tax Collector- John Bartholomew, incumbent
Superintendent of Schools- Garry Eagles, incumbent
Makes that easy, doesn't it? I'll not bother voting in all of those but one- Sheriff. I'll go ahead and give Mike Downey a vote if only because I like Mike!
Then there's the 4th district Board of Supervisor race between Virginia Bass and Chris Kerrigan. Quite honestly, I was hoping Virginia would run unopposed so I could pass on that race, too.
You can't help but love Virginia. I just get annoyed with some of her public statements like cheering the ban on rat poisons and her kumbaya piece in the Times- Standard kinda making nice with ADA shyster, Jason Singleton.
So what are the issues? Hard to say since I'm not sure there would be too much difference between Chris and Virginia when it comes down to actually voting on things. Can anyone point to any differences between now and when Bonnie Neely held the seat?
Chris Kerrigan came by the house a few days ago campaigning. I told him I didn't know that there'd be all that difference between the two of them after all was said and done. He brought up what he felt was a developer friendly planning commission. Maybe so, but I haven't seen any problems in the real world because of that.
I'll give Virginia the edge, though, as she's likely a little more business friendly than Chris. She also has the past experience of having worked in the private sector. Plus, you just can't help but love the gal!
I'll be voting for Virginia.
Then there's the other Board of Supes race between Ryan Sundberg and Sharon Latour. Not my district, but my choice would be Sundberg if only because Latour seems to be another of those know- nothings recruited by progressives as a paper candidate hoping for a surprise win.
Last, but certainly not least, is the biggie: District Attorney.
I've already wrote that I see the race as pretty much between Firpo and Fleming. I'll give Fleming the edge on experience and her impressive wide- ranging support, but wouldn't have a problem voting for either.
Klein's age and health puts him towards the bottom of the list. I wouldn't vote for Dollison regardless of the office he was seeking.
Seeing a couple Dollison yard signs out made me a bit nervous. I can't imagine anyone voting for him, but some people obviously are. With three candidates splitting the votes for 2nd place, what if he makes it past the primary and ends up in a runoff with Fleming? Yuck!
One local pol told me he thought Fleming may have enough support to win the D.A. race outright, avoiding the need for a runoff. Let's hope so. It's towards that end that I'll be voting for Maggie Fleming.
Let the flaming begin!
posted by Fred Mangels @ 7:15 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Love this analysis Fred. What a surprise, conservative up and down the ticket. In the end, you get it. You'll throw you vote away when the opportunity comes along, but never vote for a left of center candidate unless perhaps you can't help but love a gal. Not that Virginoa is left of center.
It's amazing to me that you don't see any real world difference between SVB and CK. Hmmm. I think you believe that too. Interesting.
They obviously would not have voted the same way on the GPU guiding principles for example, so I guess you point is the GPU does not have real world influences.
"Like"
P.S. to "like" -- this is regarding your vote for Maggie Fleming.
When it comes to DA, experience is the way to go. Fleming has 120 plus trials, has won some huge ones, has worked for several DA's. and in several specialized positions. Firpo has been a prosecutor for 5 years, has tried about 22 cases, has won fewer than 20, and has only ever worked for Gallegos. Not the best training, as recent events show. Good call, Fred.
True but, at the same time, they have to start somewhere. I wonder how much experience Terry Farmer had before he won his first race for D.A. and held it for 20(?) years?
I'd already made up my mind, but a local pol came by the house the other day on behalf of Virginia Bass. We got to talking about the D.A. race and he was quite the fan of Flemming. He'd worked with her in the past and was VERY impressed by her. I could tell just by the way he talked it was a personal as well as professional admiration. That said a lot for not saying very much.
It's not necessarily a catastrophe to pick an inexperienced and untrained person as DA, but why would you if you didn't have to? As for Farmer, DiPauli, and all those guys - different era, slower and less technical, fewer complications and way, way fewer cases. Farmer may not have become a great lawyer, but he had the savvy to acquire and hang on to an amazing staff, which PVG pissed away until, left with his own hires, he's quitting.
and of course there's this issue:
Letter to the editor
POSTED: 04/10/2014 02:00:20 AM PDT0 COMMENTS
Arnie Klein has been unfairly criticized for his involvement with the Family of Douglas Anderson-Jordet and the plea deal accepted by Élan Firpo. It's important for the public to know that I was the person who put Mr. Klein in contact with Doug's family. I contacted Arnie after reading his response to a letter I wrote, and he agreed to work on this case, pro bono. Arnie Klein offered help and hope by advocating for those who felt increasingly double-crossed by their representatives and alienated by justice.
Élan Firpo and her campaign politicized this situation with the press release titled, “Ms. Firpo responds to concerns about Ferrer disposition.” In this politically motivated and defensive press release, Élan Firpo threw Douglas Anderson-Jordet and his family under the bus, strictly to save face in light of her candidacy in the upcoming election for Humboldt County District Attorney. When faced with criticism from her opponents and the community, Ms. Firpo chose to dishonorably react, rather than to virtuously proceed. Her colossal failure to nobly handle this situation should be strongly considered on voting day.
Ben Dale
Eureka
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