We live in amazing times.
Never before has any voter on the street had a platform (or two, or three) from which to share their opinions on a variety of topics, including politics. As with most things, it can be both a blessing and a curse.
But that’s what our country’s forefathers fought for. They just didn’t see the internet coming.
Articles, Blog Posts and Opinions, Oh My!
With just one week to go until Scottsdale’s Primary Election, articles and opinion pieces abound.
I got a kick out of this well-written and colorful piece from Voice of Scottsdale, sent via email to their subscriber list. It’s not yet published on their site, however. The formatting that appears below is theirs, as originally appeared in their email.
Wow. I never thought I’d be called a political burr under anyone’s saddle. But honestly? It’s an honor. Enjoy!
Is The Mayor Vulnerable
or Just Vindictive?
Most voters feel either one way or the other about mayoral candidate John Washington. They think he’s a citizen-watchdog who walks on water … or he’s a troublemaker who harasses the Mayor and City Council just for the hell of it.
Whatever the case, Washington has become a political burr under the saddle of Mayor Lane’s re-election campaign. And the mayor doesn’t like it. In fact he’s starting to squirm and shift his campaign’s attention to Washington.
For several months Lane had been campaigning on the high road. He sounded like a spokesperson for the Convention and Visitors Bureau. His Honor was calling Scottsdale “The Best City in America” … and he was taking credit for everything under the sun. But a couple of weeks ago cracks started showing in the mayor’s political veneer.
After spending the better part of the summer avoiding forums with his two challengers, Washington and Tea Party Activist Drew Bernhardt — the mayor caved into public criticism and began participating in forums. Even though he held his own in the debates, Lane struggled to keep his composure. He isn’t able to hide his irritation when confronted by his challengers, no matter how hard he tries.
Mayor Lane is starting to resemble a red-headed woodpecker, turning beet-red at the slightest provocation – especially from John Washington.
The mayor is fed up. So last week his campaign ran full-page ads in all four editions of the Scottsdale Republic aimed at Washington. The campaign tried to accomplish in the newspaper what the mayor was unable to achieve in debates: successfully refuting the charges from Washington that the city is technically $1.3 billion in debt and running a $8 million deficit.
For Mayor Lane, a former CPA, those are fighting words.
In Lane’s ad his campaign dismisses Washington’s charges as “ridiculous rhetoric.” The anti-Washington ad labels his accusations as “anti-business, anti-job, and anti-preserve rhetoric.”
Even though the mayor’s campaign has dropped a pretty penny with the Scottsdale Republic to discredit Washington, the mayor has yet to capitalize on the newspaper’s endorsement of his candidacy. And probably with good reason – because the publication could only muster half-hearted support for the mayor’s mediocre administration for the past four years.
The endorsement was more embarrassing than enthusiastic.
Let’s face it … Mayor Lane generates about as much excitement as a life insurance salesman. Even his most ardent admirers are hard pressed to identify what makes the mayor electable – except that he’s not John Washington or Drew Bernhardt.
When the Lane 4 Scottsdale 2012 campaign was launched earlier this year, surveys showed Mayor Lane polling strongly. Then when Washington and Bernhardt entered the race, conventional wisdom was that the two challengers would split the vote to make the mayor a shoe-in for a second term.
Now, with the Lane campaign’s recent fixation on bashing Washington, people are beginning to wonder about the mayor’s campaign: Is Jim Lane politically vulnerable or just personally vindictive?
Or maybe both?
If you’d like to help spread the word about our upcoming election, feel free to share this article by using one of those cute little buttons below. Thank you! –JW