Jefferson County Republican Party: What Went Wrong?

Nationally, the Republican Party (well, actually the Tea Party Republicans) nearly destroyed the Democrats in the November elections. They previously eliminated most of the remaining moderates in the Grand Ole Party (which was the backbone of the party), leaving more than a few Establishment backed candidates and  their incumbents. In Kentucky, the GOP did pretty well too, except in Louisville. Here, the local Republican Party got their usual butt kicking, which really shouldn’t have happened this time out. It was in many respects a clown show.

The mood in Jefferson County was strongly in favor of change away from Obama and his political misadventures. People were just as tired of "His Excellency", Mayor Jerry Abramson who served three terms as Louisville Mayor and two terms as Metro Mayor. The GOP had an outstanding candidate in the person of businessman and Metro Councilman, Hal Heiner. The GOP managed to field some good, but not spectacular candidates for Metro Council, but as usual, provided no help. The same goes for a lot of the other races such as for State Representative and State Senator.

The failure began about a year ago when interim party chairman, J T Miller, resigned in order to run for Metro Council District 19, which was being vacated by Hal Heiner to run for mayor (Miller, by the way is a classy guy, won). Party bylaws (antiquated though they be) states that opposite genders must occupy the alternating seats, that is, since there was a male party chairman and as the vice chairperson was female, only a male candidate could be nominated (the vice chairperson was not elected as part as a slate, but as a stand alone candidate). Through some backroom lobbying, Shelly May, who has little political experience, was nominated over a male candidate with significantly more experience and thus apparently violated the party bylaws. The nomination had the weight of a defacto appointment since discussion before the membership wasn’t permitted. Shelly seems nice enough I guess, although she’s never actually spoken to me. She’s married to the former PVA John May who was appointed by then Governor Fletcher and lost his election bid to Tony Lindauer.

After her election, it was necessary to remove the female vice chairperson and key fundraiser (as I said violation of party bylaws appeared to be in play here, though apparently not a lot of common sense was)in favor of a male vice chairperson. The Operations Director, who could have challenged her over the bylaws, had his nominal salary first cut, then eliminated and was finally removed from office. As it turned out, it was all a big mistake, especially during an election cycle. The local GOP did not implement any of desperately needed reform which been proposed. Another insider was selected a vice chairman. It was more (actually less) of the same. There was virtually no fundraising; no vetting of candidates; no training or oversight of candidates; no recruitment of LD chairpersons, precinct captains, volunteers or poll workers. 

In short, the leadership failed, or to be more accurate, the usual backroom wheelers and dealers failed the party; its members; the candidates; and the voters. One bright spot from the party insider’s perspective was, I suppose, that 25th Metro Councilman Doug Hawkins lost his race for reelection. Hawkins was a perennial thorn in the side of the Executive Board and only Republican west of I-65 as well as an advocate for the Southend. Don’t misconstrue my comments. I’m not picking on Ms. May and no one is blaming her for the local Republican Party’s failures. She was just not adequately prepared for the job in my opinion (as well as others) and the backroom dealmakers deprived the party of the type of leadership it needed.

I think what success there was resulted from the efforts of some Southend conservatives, of which I was one. A friend of mine, Paul Holliger and I had been talking for awhile about the need to turn around the declining Southend. We’re both tired of countless politicians of both stripes promising much and delivering little. We hit upon the idea of political training seminars for Southend conservative candidates (this was strictly non-partisan, but other than one Indie, everyone who showed up were Republican). We recruited two former Indies and current Republicans, Ray Pierce and Ed Springston to help with the training. No one knows drainage and flood issues like Ray. Ed, also a former Labor oriented Democrat, ran for mayor as an Indie, has a pretty popular local radio show called, “My View Matters”.

The format was candidate intensive”. We focused on just about everything and did pretty well too. Mike Nemes won the 38th House seat. Wade Hurt won his 37th State Representative seat, though through the disqualification of his opponent (Apparently Wade’s opponent, Jeff Donahue had an ineligible signature on his candidate application form. The matter went to court and Judge Fred Cowan disqualified Donahue from the race (interestingly, I didn’t learn of this until after the fact when I was told that I was accused of somehow “engineering” the disqualification. I didn’t, but I appreciated the laugh!). Although Renay Davis (whose house we used) lost, she did a spectacular job and came within 183 votes of winning her race in Metro Council District 13. Gail Powers didn’t fare so well in her race for the 44th House seat, and was disqualified, but she picked up some valuable tools for her next race. 46th House candidate Brian Simpson also lost, but put on a pretty good race.

So, there you have it. Locally, the GOP now only controls a small handful of Metro Council seats east of I-65. The Jefferson County Republican Party has done better in the past. It can do better in the future, but the elitism has to go. However, I will say this from a personal perspective, I don’t think backroom lobbying has any business in a political party. It should be looking to bring out the best in its leadership; its candidates; its elected officials; and its membership. After all, isn’t that what they’re always accusing the Democrats of failing to do?

Let me conclude with one final set of predictions from this election cycle. After the appropriate period has passed, I look for a change of party chairperson. I expect the “backroomers” to try and shore up their mistakes and transfer as much of blame as possible elsewhere while retightening their control on the local party structure. They will try to keep out and/or purge any reformers, who also just so happen to be their brightest and most capable.

I think Wade Hurt will have to “double down” to keep his 37th House seat, and that means acting more openly and honestly with Southwest activists. Mike Nemus, who won a close race for the 38th House has all the promise in the world. His next race will be tough. Rumor has it that retired police captain Denver Butler Jr (son of long time 38th State Representative Denver Butler) will run in 2012. 38th State Senator Dan Seum, who’s 70 years old, will likely face an aggressive primary challenge in four years, and if he survives that, an equally hard general election (and the scuttlebutt is that if Senator Seum tries to run any more family members---Dana Seum Stephenson and David Toborowsky come to mind---the same level of challenge can be expected). Lastly, look for yours truly to be calling it as is, but then, you already knew that didn’t you?

Kentucky Election Results

Well, it’s time to face the music. In the last edition I predicted the outcomes of the various races in Jefferson County. Now it’s time to see how well I did.

For the US Senate Seat being vacated by outgoing Jim Bunning (R), I predicated Rand Paul (R) would handily beat Jack Conway (D), and indeed he did! It just wasn’t a win, it was a spanking (56% to 44%). This was the first race of the night called; just 30 minutes after the polls closed! However, I fear we haven’t seen the last of Jack Conway yet.

Democrat John Yarmuth easily kept his 3rd District Congressional seat by defeating Republican Todd Lally as I predicted by 55% to 44%. Lally, who otherwise was a good candidate, simply ran a lackluster campaign and missed numerous opportunities to hang Pelosi and Obama around Yarmuth’s neck.

In the 38th State Senate, Republican Dan Seum won with 61.71% of the vote over Marty Meyer’s 39.29%. No surprise there. Meyer, who was Yarmuth's legislative aide, was outmatched from the get-go. Democrat Larry Clark beat Republican newcomer Brian Simpson for the 46th House seat 55.45% to 44.55%. But, I look for Brian Simpson to be back again, especially if Larry Clark keeps on acting like, well, Larry Clark.

In the 38th House seat, I predicted Mike Nemus (R), also a newcomer, to beat Tim Firkins (D). It was a tight race, 50.95% to 49.05% but Mike came through like the champ he is. Republican Kevin Bratcher beat Democrat Dustin Wilcher as expected with just over 68% of the vote. Political newcomer Aaron Wilson lost to Tom Burch in the 30th House race by a margin of 72.38% to 27.62%. The Republican, Julie Raque Adams won in the 32nd House race against her two opponents with 62.92% of the vote while Republican Ron Crimm beat Democrat Kimberly Greenwell in the 33rd House race 66.44% to 33.56%. Long time 28th State Representative Charlie Miller (D) had no trouble with John Brewer (R) with a 54.86% to 45.14% win. Will the preacher try a third time in 2012?

Bobbi Holsclaw (R) kept her Jefferson County Clerk position by handily defeating Democrat Jack Wood 65.38% to 34.62%. Likewise, Democrat “Colonel” John Aubrey is still the local sheriff after beating Republican Mike Roberts and Indie Don Fitzgerald with 60.85% of the total vote. With 58.3%, Tony Lindaur, the Democrat, beat Republican Corey Keollner and remains the Property Value Administrator By the way, shouldn’t the PVA, Jefferson County Sheriff, and County Clerk be non-partisan positions like the judges are?

In a nail biter, Democrat Greg Fischer won over Republican Hal Heiner by only 2% (51% to 49%). The post election map showed the old county voted overwhelmingly for Heiner while the old city voted just as overwhelmingly for Fischer. What this election clearly demonstrated was that after two terms as mayor by His Excellency, Jerry Abramson, Metro Louisville remains just as divided as it did when Abramson served three terms as Louisville Mayor and the county had a County Judge and three County Commissioners.

Greg Fischer, whom I’ve dubbed as “Abramson Lite” will continue many of the policies of his predecessor (along with keeping several of Abramson’s staff members) and the residents of the county will become angrier over the lack of representation they (rightly) believed they are getting from City Hall, especially as the city government continues to move its crime problems out of the West End and into the Southwest portions of the county in order to “revitalized” the downtown Louisville. Rumor has it that former mayor Dave Armstrong and former state Representative Ron Weston of Fairdale will be the new deputy mayors under Fischer. If so, they will be the opening blunders of the new administration.

There wasn’t much change or interest in most of the races for Metro Council (which I usually refer to the Metro Soviet given its past lockstep devotion to His Excellency, Jerry Abramson) as expected, with three exceptions. The first was Metro Council District 13 which pitted incumbent Democrat Vicki Welch against activist and Republican Renay Davis. As I wrote in the last issue, residents of Fairdale have faired pretty well under Metro government while the rest of the district has received little to nothing. Residents have seen an increase in Section 8 housing, and corresponding crime related matters despite assurances to the contrary. A hotly contested race, Ms. Welch won by a mere 219 votes (51.88% to 48.12%). I just hope the residents of District 13 haven’t lost their opportunity to turn things around.

Hal Heiner decided to vacate his Metro Council District 19 seat in order to run for Mayor. Republican and all around good guy Jerry T. Miller stepped up and convincingly defeated his Democrat challenger, Justin Chelf by 74.36% to 25.64%.

The third Metro Council race of note was in the 25th where incumbent Doug Hawkins (R) took on David Yates, the Democrat and lost 51.3% to 48.7%. As I said previously, Doug has done a lot for the residents of District 25, but he committed the cardinal mistake of underestimating his opponent. Throughout, Doug thought that his past performances, which were considerable, would carry him through. Doug failed to fundraise; to do mailers; and to walk his district. In short, he didn’t do his homework. I’ve heard good things about David Yates (I meet him once at a union endorsement forum). I think the residents of Metro 25 will do well by him, however, I don’t think they will see the kind of voice they had in Doug Hawkins.

While the Democrats took a shellacking nationally, the biggest loser of the night was the National Republican Party. How can that be with so many GOP victories across the country? Because the majority of these victories were by Tea Party candidates who just so happened to have an “R” behind their names this time. The Establishment Republicans (think Mitch McConnell) lost big in this election cycle. They lost it in the Republican Primaries along with what was left of the GOP moderates. Rand Paul and other incoming Tea Partiers have already agreed to form a Tea Party caucus. I applaud them for following through on their promises to the American People. It will be interesting to see how the two sides work together going into the next congressional session in dealing with the Democrats and Obama.

Locally, the Republican Party demonstrated for all to see just how poorly organized and led they are. While the GOP picked up two state house seats in Southwest Jefferson County, it was through no thanks to the local GOP leadership, but instead by a well organized and dedicated group of Southend conservatives (who were also active in some other Southwest campaigns). The Metro Council is now solely Republican east of I-65 and solidly Democrat west of I-65; all as it was originally intended some eight years ago when the metro government came about. The Democrats now control 17 seats on Metro Council to the Republicans 9 seats, making the GOP all but redundant.

So, how did I fare in my predictions? Pretty well I think. Of the races I weighed in on, I missed only three while I was correct on 20.

Kentucky Election Predictions

As promised in our last piece, here are my predictions for the upcoming 2010 Kentucky(Jefferson County) elections. I don’t think there will be many surprises. I think the biggest “surprise” if you will, is reserved for the Grand Ole Party nationally. The recent Primary elections established the Tea Party as a viable answer to the traditional conservative wing of the Republican Party, lead in part, by Kentucky’s own, US Senator Mitch McConnell.

What the Primary elections proved was the conservatives across America are tired of status quo politics. They have had enough of the usual dull fare of “elect me and I’ll change (fill in the blank)”. Who are they trying to kid? One person or even as small group of like minded individuals can’t make a hoots worth of difference in Washington, or for that matter, in most state capitals. The people get it. Politicians don’t. It takes a mass movement, and that’s what the Tea Party is all about (or supposed to be).

Sadly, one the causalities of the Primary Elections were the loss of moderates. America has long been a country of the Center; sometimes a little to the Left and sometimes a little to the Right. The elections all but removed the Center from power in this country, especially on the Right. The result is that we’re left with two extremes, Obama’s Neo-Socialists and the Conservative Right’s Theocrats. Neither is particularly appealing to the American Public. 

The Tea Party offers conservatives a choice, but in the long run may result in creating a political party of conformity but unelectability at the national level or, in some cases, state and local levels. The same thing happens if the theocrats continue to dominate the GOP, which may partly explain Obama’s 2008 landslide and exodus of Republican moderates. The moderate conservatives on the Left really have nowhere to turn either, except to the Tea Party or to their increasing Far Left oriented Democratic Party. Perhaps this is why so many people, mostly moderates, have chosen to leave both parties and have registered as Independents.

Americans live in the political middle. We are a practical, independent, hard-working, and privately religious people. We believe in freely offering a helping hand to those in need. We believe in fairness and accountability. Both political parties need to reexamine their political goals. The party (or perhaps independent) who captures the Center will be the one who will dominate our political system. Now, for my 2010 Jefferson County election predictions.

For the open US Senate Seat of retiring Jim Bunning (R), Republican Rand Paul has lead Democrat Jack Conway throughout despite an all out offensive by the Democrats and their Allies Conway was the first to go negative and has, for the most part, stayed, if not negative, then at least distorted. The more Conway stays negative, the better Paul seems to do. Therefore, I predict no or little change in Conway’s desperation and a Rand Paul victory.

In the 3rd District, we have incumbent John Yarmuth (D) in a race against Todd Lally. There’s much to be said for Lally. He’s got the looks and background. He’s running in a good year. Yarmuth is an unabashed liberal who has openly spoke proudly of his support for Obama and his policies. However, Lally hasn’t been nearly as aggressive as he needs to be to knock John off his perch. I think Yarmuth wins.

For 38th Kentucky State Senate, we have incumbent Republican Dan Seum against Marty Meyer, Yarmouth’s former aide. Meyer has a tough road to hoe to take out Jefferson County’s “VET Slayer”. Despite his slightly outdated moniker, Dan remains popular in his district and should beat the liberal Meyer.

Republican newcomer Brian Simpson is making big waves against incumbent Larry Clark for the 46th House Seat. Larry Clark is the quintessential entrenched “good-ole-boy” Democrat right down to his arrogant and condescending attitude. I polled a large number of his constituents and found nearly no one who could stand him. The residents of the 46th District need someone who’ll listen and that sure hasn’t been Larry Clark.

The 44th Kentucky House seat had all the possibilities of an interesting race, pitting Democrat Joni Jenkins against newcomer Gail Powers. Joni comes from a longtime Shively Democratic family while Gail is a transplanted Florida Republican activist. However, due to technicality and subsequent lawsuit filed by Democrat operatives, Gail was disqualified. Nevertheless, I fully expect to see her again. The gal has spunk.

In the 38th Kentucky House race, we have Tim Firkins, a long time Democrat operative running against Republican Mike Nemes. Mike is showing he wants this seat, however, to his credit, Tim hasn’t really made anyone in his district. In fact, he really hasn’t done much to or for his district (disclaimer: I live in the 38th and previously ran for this seat against Denver Butler). I think Nemes has a real good shot at winning this seat.

In the open 37th Kentucky House race, Wade Hurt (R) facing off against Jeff Donahue (D). The 37th has had rather poor representation of late and I think the residents are looking for some serious change. They will find in it Hurt. I expect him to handily defeat Donahue.

The 28th House has John Brewer (R) challenging incumbent Charlie Miller (D). I think Miller wins reelection. In the 29th, incumbent Kevin Bratcher (R) should beat Dustin Wilcher (D). Likewise, Tom Burch (D) should hold on to his seat against Aaron Wilson, but don’t underestimate Aaron. He’s an up and coming political player with a bright future. In the 32th, incumbent Julie Raque Adams(R) faces Matthew Linker, a Libertarian and Democrat Nellie Draus Stallings, while in the 33rd, Republican incumbent Ron Crimm is opposed by Kimberly Greenwell (D).

The 35th House race has incumbent Jim Wayne (D) is a tough race against Independent Kentucky President Michael Lewis. Democrats are working hard to get Lewis kicked off the ballot by challenging the signatures on his petition (independents have to have 100 signatures to run in a bi-partisan “keep’em out” status quo Kentucky statute). While I think Wayne keeps his seat, Lewis may be on to something here. I expect to see a lot more Indies running for office.

The 41st House has incumbent Tom Riner (D) up against Nathan Haney. I think money and name recognition is on Riner’s side this time out.

For the first time in 20 years, Louisville is getting a new mayor and we’re all giddy about it. The only question is whether it will be Democrat Greg Fischer or Republican Hal Heiner (Independent Jackie Green has dropped out and will be endorsing Fischer). Hal is a successful businessman and current Metro Councilman. Fischer too has had a lot of success in the business world. Fischer has the money while Heiner seems to have the momentum. Greg offers “Abramson Lite” to Hal “Fresh Ideas”. Louisville needs Hal Heiner, but the last Republican mayor was back in 1969. Odds favor Greg Fischer, but wouldn’t it be nice to have some “fresh air” for a real change?

Metro Council 5th District has incumbent Cheri Bryant Hamilton against Independent Donnie Morris. Cheri has done well by her district and should have no trouble winning. In the 6th District, we have Republican Candice Jaworski, Democrat David James, Independent Deonte Hollowell and write-in Ken Herndon, a Democrat in a four way race. When George Unseld died and left this seat vacant, the best candidate to step forward was far and away Ken Herndon. I think he still is.

In the 9th Metro Council race, former Alderwoman and current Metro Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh is being opposed by Republican Patrick Duerr. Tina is almost a fixture in the district and seems to be willing to work with those across the aisle from time to time. Tina wins, but I urge Duerr is hang in there. Remember, to win, you have to reflect the values of your district.

Metro Council 13 is a great race to watch. It pits incumbent Vicki Welch (D) against the 38th Republican LD for former aid for Councilman Doug Hawkins, Renay Davis. Davis and Welch squared off four years ago in a tight race (disclaimer: I live in District 13 and ran for this seat in the first Metro election). Since then, drainage and attracting new businesses remain an issue while increasing crime (especially gangs and meth labs) and Section 8 houses have become serious problems. Historically, attention has focused on Fairdale to the near exclusion of the rest of the district. Vicki has put a lot of money into her district, and I think she’s doing the best she can, but I think the problems are simply to great for a “connect-the-dots” councilwomen. Renay knows the players and how the game is played. Renay Davis wins this time around.

In the 15th Metro District, we have political newcomer Jody Harral against Marianne Butler. I’ve heard little good about Butler, but I think Jody seems needs to hone his message. Butler wins, but with a little homework, Jody could win in four years. In the 17th, incumbent Glen Stuckel (R) is facing William Cohen (D). Stuckel is by far the better choice and should easily win. Jerry Miller (R) and Justin Chelf are running for Hal Heiner’s open seat in the 19th. Against, Miller is by far the better qualified candidate. The resident would do well by electing him.

The 23rd Metro Council District has incumbent James Peden (R) being opposed by Democrat John Sommers. I’ve spoken with several residents throughout the 23rd and not a word of complaint against Peden. Some describe him as the hardest working person on Metro Council. Why try to fix something that isn’t broke? Good politicians are hard to find and I expect voters to keep Peden

Property Value Administrator is one of the most important, but often overlooked positions on the ballot. This year we have candidates Corey Koellner (R) and incumbent Tony Lindauer. Tony has done a fair job. He’s a “by-the-book” administrator, which are his strength and his weakness. In good times, stability is what the people need. However, in choppy economic waters, people need an innovator. Someone able to cut costs in administration and to homeowners. I think Koellner offers that. The big challenge Koellner faces is convincing people to change horses in uncertain times, and overcoming a large money lead by Lindauer. But, sometimes, you just gotta take a leap of faith.

Another key office is County Clerk. Bobbi Holsclaw (R) is being challenged by Democrat Jack Wood. Bobbi has done an outstanding job over these many years and I look for voters to give her another four more years. Jefferson County Sheriff has incumbent Democrat John Aubrey in a three way race against Republican Mike Roberts and Independent Don Fitzgerald. Aubrey has done a good job overall, though he’s a bit too partisan for my taste. Still, I expect him to retain his job as Sheriff.

Lastly, there are a couple of seats I’d like to mention. One is “C” District Commissioner. Republican Bob Heuglin is facing Democrat Stephan Fein. For Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor we have Ray Adam, Pat Thurman, Jim Rovenski, David Kaelin, Paul Holliger (Sr), and John Colliver. Neither of these seats have any political powers nor do they pay. However, Bob Heuglin and Paul Holliger are friends of mine and could really use the job to keep them off the streets and out of trouble.

Media Endorsements; Kentucky Elections: Book Review

I’m one of those people who don’t believe the media should endorse candidates. Now, before you start hyperventilating and sputtering about the 1st Amendment and all that, let me explain why.

I believe it’s the role of the media---print and electronic---is to provide a balanced story and let the public make up their own minds. The fact of the matter is that the public, on average, checks a minimum of three sources before making up their minds. In the case of print media, all that’s needed is a Voter Guide providing a brief biography of the candidate, contact information, and their answers (unedited) to key questions. If the reader has additional questions, they can (and usually will) check alternative sources, including contacting the candidates direct.

Today, most editorial boards pretend they aren’t biased. They rarely print the questions and often publishing edited answers, or answers out of context of the question in order to create a false impression (I’ve been through the interview process. I speak from experience). Then, by the magic of innuendo, they endorse the “better” candidate, who just so happens to fit their political agenda. And how often are the names and political parties or political leanings of the interviewers ever mentioned? Not much I imagine.

So, it’s really not a 1st Amendment issue with me. It’s more like a fairness issue. I just don’t like the idea of a “big brother” trying to manipulate me into voting for someone. Lastly, I urge to write your local editor and ask them to stop making candidate endorsements. All we need are the facts, not their opinions. And most importantly, check out the candidates and their position on the issues for yourself. Don’t rely on one (usually biased) source. The more informed you are the better government we’re going to get.


A Few Kentucky Election Predictions

There are several really interesting election stories happening here in Kentucky; the most important of which features Republican Rand Paul and Democrat Jack Conway duking it out for outgoing Jim Bunning’s Senatorial seat. Conway’s crew has pulled out all stops to make Paul look out of touch with Kentuckians and was the first to go negative. Paul has lead in the polls from the start. The more negative Conway gets, the better Paul does. Paul appears sincere, while Conway, by contrast, comes across as a snotty spoiled rich kid. I look for Rand Paul to win.

3rd District Congressman John Yarmuth (D) is defending his seat for the Third District from Todd Lally (R). This has been a surprisingly low key race. Yarmuth is an unabashed liberal Democrat who has proudly supported Obama’s programs. Lally has some excellent credentials. The mood and tide is with him, but I haven’t seen the aggressiveness he needs to win. I think Yarmuth keeps his seat. The race in the 46th District for State Representative between Democrat Larry Clark and newcomer Brian Simpson is shaping up to be quite a fight. Clark has been around forever, and a lot of his constituents have grown tired of his arrogant and bullying ways. Brian Simpson just might be the man to send Clark packing.

For 38th State Senate, the long serving Dan Seum (R) should have no trouble beating Marty Meyer (D), a former aide to Congressman Yarmuth In the 38 House Seat, Democrat Tim Firkins is battling the Republican Mike Nemes. Tim has been a Democratic fixture for decades. Mike has a lot of energy and great ideas. The biggest complaint about Tim is that he’s never around. Mike Nemes might pull off the biggest upset in this election cycle. Even if he doesn’t, I look for Mike to be back in 2012. In the 37th House race, Wade Hurt (R) and Jeff Donahue (D) are running to fill the open seat. This should be a “no-brainer” for residents looking for some actual representation for change. Wade Hurt should handily win this seat.

For the first time in 20 years, we’re going to get a new mayor! Louisville has long needed a breath of fresh air. We are sick and tired of the same worn out ideas. Our choices will be Metro Councilman Hal Heiner (R) against businessman Greg Fischer. This is going to be a tight one. Both candidates bring a lot to the table. Greg has a huge financial lead over Hal, but despite the money advantage, polls have this almost a dead heat. Given the momentum of the country, Heiner may pull this one off. If he does, he’ll be the first Republican mayor since 1969.

While I will be writing more on the other races in my article, I’d like to briefly like to mention one Metro Council race. I expect most of the incumbents to hold on to their seats with one notable exception, and that’s in my home district, Metro 13. Residents, since the merger in 2002, have lacked district wide representation. We’ve seen the number of Section 8 housing increase along the number of rental housing as homeowners move due to the increase in crime (particularly meth labs). Our only police substation was closed several years ago. Businesses have closed, and drainage remains a problem.

The current Metro Councilwoman, Vicki Aubrey Welch is a very friendly person. Her intentions are good, but I think she’s overwhelmed by the problems facing this district. The residents of District 13 need someone who knows not just how the system works, but all the players too. They need someone with the moxie to face not just the challenges, but those standing in the way of change. I have, over the past four years, heard mounting complaints about the decline of this district. That’s why I expect Renay Davis will win in November. If she doesn’t and Welch doesn’t changes her ways, she’ll be a goner in next go around.


Book Review

Big Girls Don’t Cry: The Election That Changes Everything for American Women by Rebecca Traister

Imagine being a liberal Democrat and an arch-feminist and having to face the choice of voting for Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton? Both candidates represent aspects dear to liberals and those who embrace the modern feminism. That was the uncomfortable choice the majority of Democrat Party---liberal women had to face in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary.

The author takes us on her personal soul searching journey with help from the current crop of media power players, Katie Couric, Tina Fey, Rachel Maddow, and Amy Poehler. There are constant jabs at “Mama Grizzly” and former Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin (one almost gets the sense that a self assured and successful conservative professional woman was beyond their collective comprehension) along with some great history lessons about sexism and women’s rights, which makes the book itself worth the read.

I found the 299 page book interesting, and at times even humorous, however, the feminist theme seemed to wear a little thin for me. But, then again, perhaps that was simply the nature of not Ms. Traister’s quandary, but the quandary of the Democratic Party itself; supporting American’s first bi-racial presidential candidate and a political heroine that practically every woman in America could relate to. In the end, perhaps inevitably, Obama won first prize while Hillary was offered Secretary of State as part of a not to subtle settlement to end their inter-party feud. In some ways, there was something symbolic in the playing out on a national level what couples are forced to do daily, namely deciding who will sacrifice whose career for whom and ultimately, at what price. I have to wonder though, would Obama have so graciously accepted runner-up?