Call these endorsements or not -- whatever. Enough people have asked me to post these over the past few elections that I feel like doing one here. I do my best to be clear with just how much knowledge (or lack thereof) about the candidates I'm basing my decisions on, so I don't give any false impression of expertise. Anyway, enough primary blather to choke a horse awaits just below the fold....
(I've put whom I'm voting for in bold, for perhaps easier reading.)
President
It's time for this saga to end. Obama's 50 state strategy and his background in community organizing with the IAF was enough to win me over initially, after it was apparent we weren't going to get a governor as the nominee, which was my original hope. Since then, Clinton's insulting and petulant campaign has only made that decision easier.
US Senate
An investment banker who's lived most of his life out of state isn't my idea of an ideal candidate, regardless of sexual orientation. That said, Jim Neal is very impressive in his policy positions, and he didn't have to be dragged into the race. I honestly don't know how I'm going to vote tomorrow – based on resume, it would be Hagan. Based on rhetoric, it would be Neal. Based on electability, it would be Hagan. Based on sheer courage, it would be Neal. Hmph.
Update: I still hadn't decided when I hit the polling booth, and after staring at the question for several seconds, I moved on to the others, intending to come back to it. I never did, which is probably just as well given my uncertainty. I'll be happy to support either candidate in the fall, which looks very much like it will be Kay Hagan.
Governor
I didn't vote for Bev Perdue when she ran for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor. Why? Because everything I heard was that she was little more than a party hack, with little inspiring about her. During her tenure as LG, she's been involved in some good child and mental health initiatives, but other than that it's been pretty unremarkable. So, when she announced her candidacy for the Governor's office, I can't say I was excited. On the other hand, Richard Moore caught my attention with his advocacy of a minimum wage increase, so I was initially more predisposed towards his candidacy. However, in the ensuing campaign, both of them have heaped such mountains of mud on the other, the whole thing has became a rather depressing sight. Both have shown little hesitation to stoop to the lowest forms of campaigning, demonizing immigrants and touting their “get tough” stances on crime and the death penalty. I have no doubt either would make a passable governor, but I have to say I'll be very surprised if either turns out to be anything other than a continuation of North Carolina Democratic machine politics. That said, North Carolina has been under the control of the machine for the last 16 years and 24 of the last 32, and it's done considerably better in that time than many other states, so there's worse things.
Still, there's this decision to be made. Two tools on the ballot, neither inspiring, and we have to pick. The remnant of my positive feelings towards Moore was probably about to carry the day, but in these last few weeks of the campaign, he's been just that much more odious than Perdue (who hasn't really earned much love from me with her plastic smile and fake-sounding country accent). In a campaign where I'm utterly fed up with both of them, and can't find anything left to discriminate between them, I'm throwing up my hands and voting for Perdue, for the utterly shallow and silly reason that she's a woman, and wouldn't it be nice to break another glass ceiling.
Lieutenant Governor
And now, children, it's time for the bedtime story of Big Bad Walter Dalton and the Three Progressives. Dalton is everything you love to hate in conservative, pro-business Democrats. Tax cuts for corporations, opposition to minimum wage increases, lots of big cash incentives, and so forth. Now, in a general election, there'd be a concern about splitting the progressive vote against him, but that's really not a worry here, because as long as he doesn't get 40% of the vote, even if he's the high vote-getter, he'll face the next highest vote-getter in a runoff. So if you're a progressive, the most important thing is to vote Not Dalton, then support the other guy in the runoff. (Unless Dalton comes in third or fourth, which would be even better.)
On the others, Pat Smathers, mayor of Canton, is an awfully intriguing possibility. More a populist than progressive, one of his major focuses is “home rule,” or loosening the leash that the state government keeps on local governments. Now, I'm generally sympathetic to the idea of a strong state government, but honestly, on issue after issue, I've watched as Durham's efforts to right itself with innovative policies have been stymied by powerful lobbies from elsewhere in the state blocking the bills in the legislature. I'm ready to back Smathers in his home rule. Unfortunately, as the Indy pointed out in its endorsements, he just hasn't been able to raise his profile or campaign dollars enough, and with two other progressives, his considerable charisma, oratory, and gravitas are just not enough to get my vote.
Hampton Dellinger is the son of a famous lawyer whom I'm apparently supposed to know about, but don't really. He's managed to win a lot of endorsements and raise a fair bit of money. All that said, every time I've seen something he's written on BlueNC, or read his positions on his website, I got the immediate urge to take a nap. Progressive, yes. Well connected, yes. Inspiring, not remotely. His statements remind me of nothing so much as Warren Beatty saying “we stand on the doorstep of a new millennium” in Bullworth – mildly poetic but completely bland and punchless. Dellinger would make a fine LG, and would likely find better things to do with it than Perdue ever did, but in a year when we have a chance to get a true progressive into the executive branch, I'd really like to do better than a robot with a 12-point plan for everything.
That leaves Winston-Salem's Dan Besse, a wonk-politician if there ever was one. Besse's forte is the environment, with a truly outstanding record both as a Soil and Water Conservation District rep and a W-S city councilman . On social issues, he doesn't have quite as much depth, but in every interview, article, and live blog I've read from him, he shows the right instincts. The Indy based its endorsement of Dellinger over Besse on the fact that Dellinger has a better shot at the top seat, which I think is silly, considering I have a hard time seeing Dellinger standing up under the heat of a campaign for the top job. However, Besse's made no secret of the fact that he has no designs on the executive mansion. Fine by me – go get 'em, Dan.
District Attorney
Can we just get it over with and call this the Nifong Election? His shadow hangs over this thing like the stench of someone who passed gas and then walked out of the room. No longer is it possible to judge the candidates on the strength of their qualifications – we have to evaluate how they acted at the time of the whole lacrosse affair. This is, perhaps, why Freda Black still has a chance at this thing. Having the now high honor of having been fired by Nifong in the first sign of unseemly ambition, she can claim the moral high ground here, and has apparently become the favorite of the most virulently anti-Nifong crowd. Odd, that, because of the candidates the last time around, there was one candidate with a bad reputation for pushing for prosecutions despite exculpatory evidence, and it wasn't Nifong (at that time, of course). Then again, knowing anything about Durham has never been a strong point of the most bellicose of those obsessed with the lacrosse case, so perhaps it's not that odd.
Tracy Cline got the Indy endorsement, who also rightly pointed out that Keith Bishop really doesn't have much to recommend him here. Cline, though, really does look somewhat compromised by the lacrosse affair, as she did play some small role in the case, and despite having access to the key ingredients, neglected to raise concerns. Politically, this is perhaps understandable, but it's certainly not a profile in courage. I wouldn't be disappointed if Cline got elected, but I think I have to vote for Mitch Garrell, and look forward to the day when we can hear a district attorney outline their plans for using the justice system to further the cause of public safety and reconciliation, rather than fussing over the lacrosse mess.
County Commissioners
Okay, let's dispense with the easy ones first. Don Moffitt has been a strong force in multiple local organizations for years, has run a great campaign, and has made a better case than just about anyone else in years why he should be elected. No brainer. Ellen Reckhow has done some maddening things as a commissioner and as chair of the board, but she's generally very strong, thoughtful, and insightful, so here's to another term for her. On the flip side, Joe Bowser went off the deep end the last time he was on the board, and later got booted from the NAACP for ethics violations. That's an easy no – on to our next contestant. If you were to carefully edit Victoria Peterson's body of public statements, cutting out 2/3 of what she says, you'd get a surprisingly insightful critique of local governance with some intriguing policy proposals. Unfortunately, one of the thirds you'd have edited out would have been filled with anti-immigrant, homophobic garbage, full of paens to George Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Jesse Helms, and the last third would have been seemingly random nonsense, with no coherence to anything. Um, no.
That leaves six candidates for three remaining seats. There's no question in my mind that Becky Heron has been an exemplary commissioner over her long term on the board, and that she has made Durham a much better place with her work. What I do question is whether or not her understanding of the county has kept up with the massive changes that have happened under her watch. At some point, there is such a thing as serving on the board too long. I'm not sure whether Becky has reached it or not. She is, however, one of the best of the remaining field of candidates, so it looks like she has my vote for another term -- sure, keep Her on.
Michael Page's tenure on the commission has not been terribly remarkable, nor has he been very responsive to citizen concerns. However, he generally votes intelligently and seems to pay attention to the major issues, and I like his thinking on criminal justice. I'll admit that deep down I'm inclined to support him because of his work on the school board, breaking with the demagogues like Regina George-Bowden and Lavonia Allison, and standing with Carl Kenney to start healing the giant racial gash that was tearing the school board apart. I think that one stand probably did as much as anything to isolate the most divisive voices on both sides of the divide, and move towards the remarkable calm that exists on that board today. Given that, I'm willing to hand him another term on the county board.
Josh Parker and I did a lot of work together, along with with a host of other people, in opposition to the initial proposals for the DPAC, and in trying to get that proposal improved. Of the public activism I've done in Durham, I think I'm more proud of what we were able to change with DPAC than just about anything else, so I have a number of positive feelings about Josh. I don't question his dedication to the city, nor do I question his business-like approach to the work of local governance. If Josh doesn't win this election, I have no doubt he'll be running again. In this one, though, I just can't bring myself to support him. For starters, his biggest strengths have been in proposing a town-gown relation commission, his understanding of development, and his vision for a public role in downtown. The problem is that all of these are best suited to work in the city government, not the county. I know he didn't run for the council last year because some folks he's effectively allied with were running, but that unfortunately doesn't make him any stronger on social services, education, and public safety, which is where the commissioners do most of their work. Additionally, he's just taken two positions that I can't sit with. For starters, he supports the sales tax over the transfer tax in the local option taxes approved by the legislature, and even cited the sales tax as more progressive. Further, at a recent candidate forum, he was the most outspoken proponent of the city-county merger, saying nothing but “politics” has kept it from happening. I'd say that's kind of like saying that nothing but the taste keeps bad food from being good, but whatever. Politically, if you're going to make a merger happen, you have to do one of three things: convince the county residents to accede to being annexed by the city (which most are adamantly opposed to), convince the city residents to effectively dis-incorporate the city of Durham into the county (which most of us are adamantly opposed to), or come up with some very complicated half measure between the two, which generally confuses everyone until they throw up their hands and give up.
That leaves Doug Wright, Fred Foster, and Brenda Howerton. Wright has done little but complain about taxes, while neglecting to specify where he'd cut the budget, aside from saying that he wouldn't cut social services. Considering that social services are the single biggest line item in the budget, that's hardly courageous leadership. Foster lost my vote when he said he wanted public transportation to be supported by user fees. Until someone proposes making the roads supported by user fees as well, I'm highly unsympathetic to this position. Howerton isn't the most experienced or knowledgeable candidate, but I really like her priority lists, and I love her background as an organizer with Durham CAN. She's been around local governance and community work long enough that I'm not worried about her picking up what she needs to know on the board. And besides, she somehow managed to piss off Lavonia Allison enough so that DCABP didn't endorse her. These days, that's becoming a badge of honor.
Superindendent of Public Instruction
Eddie Davis is a super candidate. I just wish he wouldn't call himself “Super” Eddie Davis. Is there a story behind this, or is it just a really unfortunate self-chosen nickname? Regardless, despite the absurd epithet, his resume is quite impressive. June Atkinson has been pretty ho-hum in the office, so I don't have any problem tossing her out for an upgrade.
Appeals Court
I normally just vote the endorsements here, but I want to make a special note about James Wynn, a very good and progressive judge.
Insurance Commissioner
David Smith is a resident of Durham. He got the PA endorsement. Why the hell not. (It's a shame this isn't the same David Smith that's in my church choir, because that David Smith has this really huge white hair, and that would be a real asset in public governance.)
School Board
I'm voting for Leigh Bordley. Why? Because she's gotten the most endorsements from groups I pay attention to. Honestly, I can't keep up with everything here.
N.C. Senate
Floyd McKissick, Jr. is running unopposed, so hopefully he won't mind that I'm not voting for him. I don't like the way he weaseled into the seat, and I don't particularly care for how he's carried himself since he's gotten in. I was really hoping Mary Ann Black would run against him again, but she decided to sit it out. Here's hoping someone else steps up to the plate in two years.
Update: Not that it matters, apparently. I'd forgotten I'm not in Floyd's district. Oh, well.
[where: 27701]
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