As part of my vow post Election 2016, I am making a much more concerted effort to get involved in local politics. I’ve started attending Democratic Committee meetings in my city, and next month I’ll be a delegate to the State Convention. And so it was that I made a trip downtown on a rainy Saturday afternoon because someone had posted in the committee Facebook page they’d pulled papers to run for School Board, and were collecting signatures outside a local restaurant, and I wanted to make sure to get on their signature sheet. Grab a beverage and join me below the fold, after a word from our sponsor...…
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Mr. Brillig and I stood under the awning with the candidate (lets call him D-SBC, for Democratic School Board Candidate) chatting after we signed — being a rainy afternoon, foot traffic wasn’t busy by any stretch. As we talked, I remarked that a former classmate of K1’s had also taken out nomination papers for School Board. Someone who’s argued politics on K1’s wall many times, and who is a rabidly conservative Republican. There are three seats on the School Board open this coming election.
Also useful to know for this story- School Board is a nonpartisan race in my city. There are no party affiliations after names on the ballot. I also know that School Boards are a “gateway election” for many people precisely for this reason… a person can win, serve and build “elected official” credibility without identifying party, often a help in a heavily one-party locale. This is why every September I attend our Town Day event and take pictures of the names at both the Democratic and Republican booths, so that come November I don’t inadvertently further the burgeoning careers of Republican party members.
Back to D-SBC and R-SBC. D-SBC told us that his opponent had *called the restaurant* to see whether they were ‘aware’ that a candidate was using their awning to stay dry while collecting names, and “did he have permission from the store manager”.
Yep- newly minted adult who voted in his first election in November, wants to run for what is still based on numbers an uncontested nonpartisan election in my little corner of the world, and goes for the hardball tactics while people are still at signature-gathering stage. And I have to believe that this is how R-SBC has learned Political Strategy in the era of modern-day Republicans. Young enough that this is the only methodology he’s ever seen from his chosen party- play dirty and hit deep.
My friend plans on remaining lowkey unless R-SBC continues or escalates, at which point they’ll take this head-on. From everything I’ve seen at the Democratic Committee meetings… K1’s classmate will never know what happened to their candidacy.
I hope it doesn’t come to that. I’ve spent a lifetime knowing how important School Boards are, and making sure that the candidates I vote for reflect my thoughts on how best to run public schools. I’ve seen some truly nasty elections, too- the year my high school voted OUT three Board members who supported removal of a racist Native American mascot and replaced them with three candidates who ran on the sole platform of “reinstating the mascot” still remains a low point. I’d like NOT to take the bar lower.
What are school board elections like in your neck of the woods? And do ALL the Republican candidates no matter what they’re running for resort to gutter tactics? (Or is that a rhetorical question?) Ruminate and share in the comments, after reading what you really come here for… the trio of Top Comments, Mojo and Pictures that are the backbone of this long-running community diary series, brought to you tonight by a man who NEVER stoops to the gutter… BeninSC.
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down.
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From greenbird:
This comment from first-time Daily Kos commenter, paulq, indicates that the government document that details how classified material must be handled mandates specific action in the event someone is ‘compromised’ ala Flynn. Grounds for impeachment? We’ll see!
From elfling:
This comment by Bluestategreen was found in David Nir’s FP diary on the immaturity of an Iowa Republican congressman, walking out of an interview with children present. Bluestategreen describes a far more mature standard of engagement and behavior.
Highlighted by Edwin Santana:
In Edwin’s diary on Republican (!!!) voter registration in Va, is found this excellent comment by KBoddye (Ken Boddye, VA HD-51) on a 21st Center Voting Rights Act! Nice! (Edwin is Democratic candidate for VA-01.)
From yours truly, brillig:
Re: that little news story happening today, Bush Bites asks an obvious question, and bejammin075 replies.
Top Mojo ala mik!
For Monday, May 8, 2017, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on the subject.
2017-05-09, courtesy of jotter!
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Image permissions do not permit inclusion in Top Pictures
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