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Posts Tagged ‘harrisburg mayoral race’

There’s Winners And Losers, Don’t Get Caught On The Wrong Side Of That Line

May 20th, 2009 Jersey Comments off

In a roundabout way, we all won yesterday.

Even though the majority of my votes went to the losing candidates, it doesn’t mean I’m unhappy about the outcome of the Primary.

I’m really surprised that Eric Papenfuse didn’t land a seat on council. It seemed like his support was much stronger than the votes showed.

And I still don’t know what Kelly Summerford had going for him. Other than the fact that James Ellison ran his campaign (along with Linda Thompson, Tiffiney Penn, Patricia Whitehead and Danielle Hairston).

But I’m fairly sure that had Summerford not been a product of the Ellison camp, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.

The write ins on the Republican side of things won’t be announced until Friday. So there IS a chance that we’ll seeĀ  Reed and Thompson going head to head in November.

But regardless of the outcome of that election, we ALL won yesterday. There was a stronger voter turnout in the Harrisburg race than there has been in many, many years. Sure, some of that may have been runoff from the Obamania of last year, but any way you slice it, nearly 5,000 residents cast votes yesterday.

A wind of change is blowing down Front street…it’s an exciting time to live in this city.

Dirty Politicians

May 18th, 2009 Jersey Comments off

Aren’t they all just a little bit dirty?

It seems that way, politicians these days.

Stolen money. Stolen trust. Stolen faith in a system that’s supposed to be in place to protect and serve us.

We want order. Fairness. Logical decisions made by rational and balanced individuals.

Tuesday is Primary Day.

And a big one.

Obviously, not all politicians are untrustworthy, selfish, greedy and operating with ulterior, personal motives.

But a lot of them are.

And you know how one bad apple spoils the bunch, right?

I’ve been paying close-enough attention to this race (and to the local political climate) to know, with certainty, who I’m voting for on Tuesday. And I’m not writing this post in an attempt to sway or campaign or influence anyone. This is on my own volition.

For council- I’m voting:

  • Eric Papenfuse
  • Fran Harris
  • Joe Brown
  • Danielle Hairston-Green

Those four appear to have the most genuine convictions, honest intentions, balanced values and a fresh, new view on the Council/Mayor dynamic.

I want my council to have the intelligence, drive, ability and, most importantly, the balls to get things done.

For City Controller I’m voting:

  • Dan Miller

Obviously, he’s the only one on the ballot. But even if it was Dan Miller vs. Bruce Springsteen for Controller, Miller would still get my vote. The guy just screams integrity. And Dan Miller is certainly not for sale. That’s the kind of candidate I want in the job that says “yes” or “no” to virtually every single dollar the city wants to spend. Therefore, it’s almost irrelevant who’s Mayor if the Mayor has a tough gatekeeper between him and the city coiffers.

Speaking of the Mayor- I’m voting for:

  • Les Ford

And it’s after much internal debate. You see, I like Linda. I really love her fire. Her passion. Her verocity. But those three personality traits also make me nervous.

Regardless of how much good he has done (and he has done some good for the city) Reed has been in office for entirely too long.

I’m not going to turn this into a incinerator/sports hall of fame/failing school district/cloudy cronyism/artifacts post. It’s simple : I believe in term limits. And the Steve Reed that was 32 years old in 1982 when he was first elected is a completely different Steve Reed than the one who runs this city today.

For school board, my votes are going to:

  • Tiffiney Penn
  • Randy King

And one of my votes for Judge goes to

  • Joe Postelle

Paul Zozos barely has hair on his balls. (He’s 22 years old and works in a parking garage). Is that who you would want to be judged by in the event you wound up in court?

Get out and vote, everyone.

(And I swear- I’m throwing eggs at the next candidate who utters the word “change”…we’ve got enough panhandlers on the streets calling for “change”, I don’t want to hear it from elected officials as well)

The Race For Mayor (So Far)

May 14th, 2009 Jersey Comments off

Capitol Area Neighborhood Blog has a nice take on the race so far-

I’ll be posting my last minute analysis on Monday.