Friday, November 6, 2009
News Election tidbit roundup
Posted by Scott Henry @ScottTheHenry on Fri, Nov 6, 2009 at 12:21 AM
Some random observations:
- Write-in candidate Dr. Tiffany Brown got in the neighborhood of 60 votes city-wide. That's about one vote for each time the line "Vote for Tiffany Brown" was used in her catchy campaign rap song.
- At the end of September, mayoral front-runner Mary Norwood had a huge campaign warchest. But over the past month, she burned through more than $600,000, spending more than Kasim Reed ($274,000) and Lisa Borders ($300,000) put together. As of Oct. 25, Norwood and Reed each had about $166,000 in cash on hand (although Reed had loaned his campaign about $100,000 of that amount).
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There's special irony in the strong showing by City Hall kook Dave "Scrubs" Walker in the Council president's race. By taking 9 percent of the vote, Walker helped Clair Muller squeak into a runoff with Ceasar Mitchell. Yet one of Muller's campaign promises has been to bring more decorum to Council meetings and put an end to disruptions by scruffy, obnoxious guys who shout random insults at city department heads. Hmm, now who could she have been talking about?
- Need proof of the power of incumbency? Look no farther than Councilman Lamar Willis, who won a fairly close race for re-election against former assistant city attorney Shelitha Robertson despite having a wide array of ethics issues. Willis was recently fined $25,000 for running an illegal charity and has had his wages garnished to repay nearly $50,000 in delinquent back taxes. I can't remember the last Council incumbent who lost a re-election bid. Oh, wait, it was Sherry Dorsey, whose husband, DeKalb Sheriff Sidney Dorsey, was then Georgia's most notorious murder suspect! I guess that's what it takes.
- I've heard surprise that Steve Brodie couldn't manage better than a weak fourth-place finish in the six-person District 6 Council race, considering he'd come within five votes of beating incumbent Anne Fauver four years earlier. But, as a local political operative told me, folks had supported Brodie when the only alternative was the wildly unpopular Fauver. This time, however, when there were other, more appealing candidates, Brodie quickly became an also-ran.
Comments (15)
Showing 1-15 of 15
Scott: As always, your comments are great. Re: the Willis race: If a stronger candidate had been willing to go after Willis's ethics problems head-on--with laser-like focus and repeated media--it would have been interesting to see the outcome. Not sure what is sadder: That Willis was re-elected; that the civic leadership community didn't recruit another strong candidate to run against him; or that he did not retire voluntarily out of a sense of utter, abject shame. Re: Brodie: District 6 voters clearly don't like candidates who, when they walk into a room, are certain that the IQ of the space has increased dramatically. If Alex Wan wins in Dec, it'll be because they feel that Liz Coyle suffers from the same delusion.
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Alex "I'm a Wharton MBA and know how to run a business" is not exactly Mr Modesty. And he sure ain't Mr Neighborhood. Liz, Steve and Tad have all spent serious time working on neighborhood issues, while Alex hobnobbed with ADA developers and McKenna Long bondsmen. Alex's support is from those gay residents who don't give a damn what happens on council and in the city, just like they didn't when they voted in Cathy and Anne. Lamar Willis did not seem an irrational choice, given that his rival came across as a single-minded defender of city employee perks. Lamar's ethical lapses, while unseemly, did not cost taxpayers, did they?
Why no mention of Keisha Lance Bottoms and her great victory against a long list of candidates, including Reginald Eaves? Keisha last ran a spirited race against the highly controversial Jackson Bedford, a Fulton County Superior Court Judge. She came tantalizingly close to beating Jackson Bedford, who is, a la Anne Fauver, wildly unpopular in many circles.
Steve made a lot of enemies in the course of "working on neighborhood issues" over the past four years. Remember when he riled up a whole crowd of people at an NPU meeting over a project on 15th St? Now, I personally thought the condo owners were crazy to not want an apartment building right next door to them. However, that doesn't mean their opinions are invalid -- Steve treated them with a remarkable amount of contempt, considering the possibility at the time that he would run for office again. In one of the few encounters I had with him, he told me to my face that people in Midtown would not walk or ride a bike. At the time, I had my bike right there with me. In order for his ridiculous statement to be true, either my bike had to actually be a car, or I had to not be a real person.
Joe, Steve's most amusingly counter-factual remark to me was that the gay vote is not a significant factor in D6. Let's just say he over-thinks sometimes! A good guy in many ways, and we know where they finish. Will Kreher the Cop, who supported Steve, back one of the finalists, and if so will D6 run a mile in the opposite direction?
Unlike recoyle I have found gays and lesbians to be particularly engaged, especially in District 6. My gay (and lez) neighbors across the District tend to be on the leading edge of issues and advocacy, so I pay close attention to who they support - and why. As for an impressive advanced degree and solid biz experience: I'd be gratified to have representation with that kind of background. I am jealous of Wan's credentials and experience and already seen how he brings them to the table in all his community work through the years.
So do they release who got the write in votes? Where can I find that? I ask as someone who wrote in his own name and was told by others they wrote in my name as well.
Ed: In case you are not aware, unless you registered prior to the election as a write-in candidate, any "votes" for you will be discarded and treated as non-votes. I kid you not.
Great comments! Most important message that we can deliver to District 6 voters at the moment is: VOTE ON DEC 1. Given how many District 6 residents are registered to vote, you have the opportunity to determine the results of the mayoral election.
A key issue in District 6--and a major one in other run-offs-- is whether the candidates will uphold the original “promises” of the BeltLine? Coyle was on the BeltLine Board and Wan was on the ADA Board. In their official BeltLine capacities they took public positions on many BeltLine deals and activities. What are their views on upcoming BeltLine issues and decisions? For instance, NPU E just voted “No” on the Subarea 6 BeltLine Master Plan. NPU F will take a position on that Plan next week, and probably will vote “No.” What are Coyle’s and Wan’s opinions on the Subarea 6 Plan and other BeltLine issues and questions? What do the mayoral candidates, the City Council President candidates, and Amir Farohki and Aaron Watson say about the BeltLine?
Too bad Bill Campbell's buddy Michael JULIAN Bond won. I hope that doesn't give Derrick Boazman any grand ideas.
Joe: Not only did he rile us up, but we were the people he was supposed to be 'representing.' So he was voting against the wishes of the people he was supposed to be representing. Then he took contributions (maximum amount) from the developers of the apartments. And we werent against the apartments. We just wanted the apartment developers to have to buy the rights to over-develop from a historic building in the area. You know, instead of just giving the developers more development rights for nothing. Brodie PROMISED there were no historic buildings that needed money. One month after the application was denied, the developers paid $3M to margaret mitchell house, and got all the development rights they wanted. And the neighbors were happy. You can assume we are both not surprised and quite happy that he did so poorly.
Kevin: The near-riot that erupted at the NPU meeting was an indication to me that the objection was more than such a mere technicality as you indicated. Then again, maybe Henry Kissinger was on to something when he said, "University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small."
Joe: The riot was because, about 2 months before the NPU-E meeting and MNA meeting, the neighbors invited Brodie to a meeting that had representation from every condo and property owner on the street. All said we were against the rezoning, heres why; and Brodie said he would work to represent us. One person called Brodie a liar and stormed out of the meeting, somewhat unprovoked at the time. THEN, fast forward to the NPU-E meeting, and Brodie said he had 'no idea' there was such opposition and that it was the neighbors fault for not voicing their concerns. After a private meeting and written opposition, it was a bit shocking. I think neighborhood politics kind of blur the line between politicians and neighbors. We expect our politicians to lie to our faces and dont get offended by it, but not our neighbors.
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