The One With My Endorsement for Mayor

After weeks of growing despair at the increasingly negative tone of the mayor's race in Richardson, after going from being very happy with both candidates to beginning to wonder if Richardson would be better served by having a third choice, the time to vote is finally here. Early voting begins today. The general election is less than two weeks away, May 11. My weeks of waffling are over. I have to decide how to vote.

After the jump, I come down off the fence.

Of Inner Cities and High Density

Amir Omar is doing his best to lose whatever sympathy he gained by being the victim of personal attacks during this election campaign. He's doing that by taking quotes from Laura Maczka out of context and spinning a "vision" for her that people who have paid attention this election campaign would never recognize (and by "people who have paid attention" I mean me.)

Here's the quote from Omar's latest mailer.

Source: Amir Omar mailer.

This quote is all that appears on a full page. Omar is clearly trying to play it up as something huge.

After the jump, my thoughts.

No Knockout in Mayor's Race

After weeks of campaigning and a dozen or so rounds in the ring, the two candidates for Richardson's mayor were bloody but still standing after the last round, the big forum in the Grand Hall of the Richardson Civic Center, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Richardson.

I won't provide a blow by blow account because the city recorded this one and made it available for all to stream from the city's website for viewing at your leisure. It's only 82 minutes long. Inform yourselves.

After the jump, the highlights, from my point of view.

Airbrushing the Voters Guide

Wikipedia

In the old Soviet Union, the men in power had a habit of airbrushing the photographs in each new edition of the history books, removing the images of leaders who had been purged from government since the last edition. Often, Western analysts learned more about changes in the Soviet hierarchy not from any official announcements, but from who disappeared from the photos.

The same kind of analysis is still useful today. After the jump, what's missing from the Richardson Coalition PAC's 2013 Voters Guide?

Mayor's Race Both Negative and Cynical

If you came here looking for my opinion of the final mayoral candidates' forum at the Richardson Civic Center on Wednesday, you're out of luck. I need time to figure out what my opinions are. In the meantime, here are further thoughts on the downward spiral of the campaign so far.

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On Tuesday, I deplored how the Richardson mayor's race has turned personal and negative. Today, I add cynical.

Do you want a mayor who is beholden to unions and special interests?

Source: Laura Maczka.

That's a line used by Laura Maczka in her closing statement during the recent candidate forum at Mohawk Elementary School. She was referring to the endorsement of Amir Omar by the Richardson Fraternal Order of Police, the Richardson Firefighters Association, and the MetroTex Association of Realtors. But Maczka didn't name them. She didn't say firefighters, police and realtors. She said "unions" and "special interests." Given that "unions" are reviled in Texas and "special interests" reviled everywhere, it's probably good politics. It's as if Maczka expected her audience to shudder a little and silently pray, "No!"

After the jump, why it's so deeply cynical.