2007: Election Endorsements

Oh, Jesus Christ and General Jackson, is it election time already? Right, I have to issue my endorsements, as I always do.

The problem with off-year elections is that they're so insignificant you don't hear too much about who's running for what. But there are significant races out there, including two governorships (a third, in Louisiana, was decided in an open primary), plus the mayoralty of Pennsylvania's largest city, Philadelphia. Somehow, it escaped the attention of Philadelphia native Chris Matthews.

So here we go with the big races, plus one small race:

For Governor of Kentucky: This blog endorses Democrat Steve Beshear, for one simple reason: Republican incumbent Ernest Fletcher has been investigated for hiring and firing for government jobs based on political loyalties. Oh yeah, he was indicted by the state Attorney General. Though the charges were later dropped, and though Fletcher has assured that this will never happen again, why give an indicted politician the benefit of the doubt?

For Governor of Mississippi: This blog endorses Republican incumbent Haley Barbour. That's right, the bigoted former national chairman of the Republican Party is my choice. Why? Because his Democratic opponent, John Arthur Eaves, Jr., is even worse. Eaves is running to the right of Barbour, and supports mandatory prayer in schools. meanwhile, I give Barbour credit for steering his state through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, at least doing far better than outgoing Governor Kathleen Blanco in neighboring Louisiana, and he supports standards for town planning endorsed by the Congress of the New Urbanism (walkable neighborhoods, compact town centers, better public transit) in rebuilding Mississippi's Gulf Coast.

Short of moving out of the state ("Who would want to live in Mississippi?" - Charles Rangel), sticking with Barbour is the best Mississippians can expect to do.

For Mayor of Philadelphia: This blog endorses Democrat Michael Nutter to replace outgoing mayor John Street. He and Republican Al Taubenberger actually agree on quality-of-life issues regarding improvement of social services and better sanitation, but Nutter's property tax reform proposal seems more suited toward relieving the tax burden of the average Philadelphian.

For West Caldwell, N.J. Town Council: This blog endorses Democratic candidates Leonard Luciano and Robert Isetts. My hometown has an all-Republican town council that tolerates no ideas from other political persuasions, and it's time we broke one-party domination. Plus, Robert Isetts is my neighbor, and if he gets in, maybe I can persuade him to do something productive with the overgrown vacant lot that abuts both our properties.

Hey, all politics is local. :-)