Tag: local politics

In Which I Endorse: 2023 edition

On By Luther M. SilerIn PoliticsLeave a comment

This post really is an exercise in ego; not only is virtually no one anywhere in the world especially concerned with who I’m voting for in my local city elections this year, but anyone who looks at said elections would quickly realize that they already knew who I was going to vote for without me saying a single word about it. I had a whole conversation with my wife after leaving the polling place about voting straight-ticket; we both may as well have and neither of us did, both of us feeling like the literal least we could do would be to specifically touch the place on the screen next to our chosen candidates.

It abruptly occurs to me that this is a pretty good “use this to hunt me down” post; please don’t hunt me down.

Anyway, James Mueller for mayor. He’s the incumbent and is Pete Buttigieg’s chosen successor; he will probably hold the job for as long as he wants it. I do not, to be honest, have particularly strong feelings about him; he has not done anything to offend me in his, what … four years in office? Right? I think that’s right– and his opponent in in the primary was a scumbag and his opponent in the general is a Republican, so we’re done there. Desmont Upchurch is doing that thing that local Republicans like to do where instead of running against the mayor he’s running against the city of South Bend, and I’m sorry, asshole, but I hate this, put me in charge of it is never going to be a winning fucking argument. Plus he’s a domestic abuser. That’s not an allegation; he brought it up himself to keep it from being used against him. This type of questionable logic is another reason not to vote for him. Lose the whole candidate.

Sherry Bolden-Simpson for District 5 City Council representative. Our district is the only one in the city represented by a Republican; I will admit that Mr. Wax has not done anything to personally offend me and his various mailings all emphasize his willingness to work across the aisle, but I know Sherry personally through her years with South Bend schools and I trust her judgment.

Oliver Davis, Karen White and Rachel Tomas Morgan for at-large City Council. I worked with Mr. Davis for a couple of years; he has sweated through my Santa suit and is a good guy. I’ve met White and Tomas Morgan and they pass muster as well. That said, those are the three Democrats running so it’s not like my endorsement is a surprise. Then again, this is a “choose up to three” election so if I didn’t want to vote for someone it’s not like I’d have to pick one of the Republicans. Two of the three are incumbents and Davis is seeking to return to the council after leaving his seat to run for Mayor four years ago.

Bianca Tirado for City Clerk. Tirado is not the incumbent, having successfully primaried the current City Clerk back in May; to be honest I don’t remember the details, but I voted for her. I don’t even recall her opponent’s name off the top of my head; she’ll win by 40 points.

So yeah. No surprises. Vote for Democrats. I’ll never vote for a Republican again as long as I live.

The election is Nov. 7.

94! 94! 9-9-9-9-94!

On By Luther M. SilerIn PoliticsLeave a comment

I voted on the way home from work, and an hour and a half before the polls close I was somehow only the 94th voter at my precinct for the day. Voter participation is traditionally terrible for South Bend mayoral elections, which are always held the year before a presidential election and generally garner no more than 20% turnout, but that number seems lower than usual. The polls close at six; I expect to find out by seven that James Mueller has been elected derplord mayor of South Bend, probably by about a 60-40 margin, if not better. I am moderately invested in one of the City Council races, and hope to find that Rachel Tomas Morgan wins one of the three at-large seats, and … well, that’s about it. It took longer to get the newfangled voting machine to scan my ticket properly than it did to actually vote.

From the Credit Where It’s Due department: I have kicked Republican mayoral candidate Sean Haas some shit for his ungrammatical yard signs and his shitty website; in a burst of curiosity last night I went to his site again and he’s actually had a pretty major overhaul since the last time I looked– and, interestingly, the word Republican is never used once, anywhere on the entire site. I live in Indiana, so I’m used to Democrats trying to run as stealth Republicans (and I don’t appreciate it,) but I believe this is the first time I’ve ever seen a Republican pull that move. Honestly, the guy described on that page seems like somebody who I might be able to vote for, but at this point in American history I am never voting for a Republican again no matter how reasonable they sound. Anyone still remaining in the party belonging to the person in the White House cannot be trusted. That’s all there is to it. If you’re a Republican and you don’t think that should apply to you, fix your fucking party. I’m well beyond sympathy at this point.

Honest truth: the single race I’m most interested in tonight is Qasim Rashid’s. Qasim is running for State Senate in Virginia in District 28, and I haven’t seen any polling or anything but the guy has been working his ass off to get elected. I’ve been following him on Twitter since well before he started to run for office, and he’s a fascinating, progressive guy who will do well for Virginia if he’s elected. I will be more upset if he loses than I will if the guy I voted for for Mayor loses, if that helps you calibrate at all.

(On the headline: I graduated high school in 1994, and the headline, chanted at a certain cadence and speed, was the way our class ended damn near every high school pep rally, with other classes yelling similarly but with whatever their year was. That cadence basically stopped working in 2000, and every so often I wonder what Adams pep rallies are like, because it’s been 20 years since it would work– although, I note, for anyone graduating after 2021 it works again.)

More endorsements: At-Large City Council edition

On By Luther M. SilerIn PoliticsLeave a comment

I did not vote on Saturday as intended, life having determined it had other plans for me– which actually turned out to be good, as I had forgotten that there were ten Goddamn people running for the three at-large City Council seats and maybe I ought to look into that. Therefore, having spent part of my evening browsing campaign websites, and for those for whom my opinion might be relevant:

(My own district only has one candidate running, which is why I’m focusing on the at-large race, for the record.)

In which this is exactly what I’m talking about

On By Luther M. SilerIn Politics3 Comments

I say it every time I talk about local elections in South Bend: the actual election is the Democratic primary, particularly with respect to the mayoral race, because the local Republican party absolutely refuses to run anyone with the remotest shred of credibility. In the last several years their candidates include demonstrably crazy people and at least one person who was homeless while running for office. They’ve run exactly one credible candidate since I moved back here in 2007 and he spent his entire race running against the city. Turns out if you think a place is a terrible shithole where no one should live, the voters who live there don’t choose you to run the place! I know, it’s weird.

Seriously, this was an actual mailing by those fuckers. Forgive me, it’s the highest-DPI scan I can find and it’s not great:

… yeah, that’s even worse than I thought. It reads: RIP: Here lies South Bend, a once vibrant city now abandoned by business, overrun by violent crime, and driving people from their family homes because of high property taxes.

Now, put me in charge of this awful place that I obviously hate!

Yeah, good luck.

Anyway, I talked about Republican candidate Sean Haas’ shitty website the last time I talked about the mayoral race around here. I am compelled to let everyone know that I have seen my first Sean Haas yard sign, and this motherfucker, who supposedly is a teacher, has no fucking clue whatsoever how capital letters work:

There are ten total and six unique words on that goddamned sign and two of them need capital letters and don’t have them. I dunno, maybe some of you out there think I’m being superficial, but this is a level of don’t-give-a-fuck that I would find shameful from a middle school student. I have both a former student and a former co-worker in common with Haas, although I’ve never met the guy, and while they both say they won’t vote for him neither of them think he’s a terrible person. So, fine, I won’t cast aspersions upon his ancestry or anything like that. But if your damn lawn sign has two typos and only ten words you do not get to be Mayor. I need people who give a shit in that job, and this guy clearly doesn’t, and furthermore he doesn’t have anyone working for him who gives a shit either or this abomination would never have made it out of Photoshop.

Or, y’know, Paint.

It was probably Paint.

So, yeah: when whoever wins the Democratic nomination wins 70-30 in the fall, this is why: it’s not because South Bend is so monolithically Democratic that a Dem win is inevitable– South Bend is in Indiana, after all– it’s because none of the local Republicans give enough of a shit to actually put up a nominee who is worth the money spent on his campaign.

(EDIT: I think I’ve decided who I’m voting for, by the way, but I think I’ll save it for another post and not step on this one. Needless to say, it won’t be Haas.)