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.

Would-Be Mayors Overplay Their Hands

Early in the Richardson mayoral election campaign, Amir Omar overplayed his hand by accusing Laura Maczka of "leading the charge" against direct election of the mayor. Instead of having to defend her votes to kill talk of direct election of the mayor for the rest of the council term, she was able to change the conversation to whether or not she was the "leader" of the anti-change majority on the council. Arguably, she was not. Inattentive voters might have dismissed the whole flap as a "he said, she said" argument. Omar might have scored points, but Maczka kept the damage to a minimum.

Now, it's Laura Maczka and the Richardson Coalition PAC who have overplayed their hand. After the jump, opening the books on Amir Omar.

Head Games (2012)

IMDB

Head Games (2012): Exposé of concussions in sport: football, hockey, even soccer. Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to play football. A-

Mayoral Race to the Bottom

Yesterday, I deplored that the Richardson mayor's race is turning into a race to the bottom. Both of the candidates' closing remarks at the Mohawk Elementary forum turned personal and negative.

Omar accused Maczka of accomplishing nothing during her term on council, of putting her service on city council "on cruise control" for two years waiting to become mayor.

Maczka accused Omar of having his eye on the mayor's seat for at least two years; of being "beholden to unions and special interests"; of being more a "community organizer" than a president, er, mayor; of having an approach to governing of "ready, fire, aim."

So much for running positive, uplifting campaigns. After the jump, other examples of both candidates and their supporters trying to ruin their opponents' reputations, and as a result, risking ruin of their own.

#@!% Comments

I've switched The Wheel over to the newly available Google+ commenting system. There are some advantages, but there are disadvantages as well. For one, the "Recent Comments" widget is broken. For another, the comment count at the bottom of blog posts is broken. For a third, you have to have a Google+ account to comment (but if you have a Google account, adding Google+ is easy). I'm sticking with the new system, in expectation that Google will eventually get these shortcomings worked out. But in the meantime, beware.

Update: I've switched back. See the comments for why.

Mayoral Forums: Stay To The Bitter End

There was another Richardson mayoral forum on Thursday, April 18, 2013. This one was at Mohawk Elementary. The forum was sponsored by the JJ Pearce & Reservation HOA and the Greenwood Hills NA.

They were both impressive. Either one will be good for the city.

Those were the first words spoken by a stranger sitting in front of me after the forum. I used to think so, too, but my confidence in both candidates is beginning to flag. The forum started on an upbeat note. The candidates were asked to "say something nice about your opponent." The forum ended with closing statements that reflected none of the good cheer displayed at the start. It's hard to say exactly how the candidates ended up where they did, as they agreed more often than they disagreed in between. Much is going on under the surface. Stress levels are rising. Chinks are beginning to appear in the armor of both candidates.

After the jump, the play by play.

Life of Pi (2012)

IMDB

Life of Pi (2012): Boy and tiger adrift in lifeboat on ocean. Beautiful fable of survival and the way of God. Which story do you prefer? A+

Compare with my review of the novel, which I graded only B+. The movie is a feast for the eyes. The novel, a feast for the imagination. Over time, I wonder if I'll swap the two grades.

April Surprise, Richardson Edition

In American political jargon, an October surprise is a news event deliberately created to influence the outcome of an election, particularly one for the U.S. presidency. The reference to the month of October is because the date for national elections (as well as many state and local elections) occurs between November 2 and 8, and therefore events that take place in late October have greater potential to influence the decisions of prospective voters.

Source: Wikipedia.

For springtime local elections in Richardson, the "October surprise" comes in April. Right on schedule, this year's April surprise has dropped, in the form of a Richardson Coalition PAC "2013 Voters Guide -- Senior Citizen Edition."

The surprise is not that the Richardson Coalition PAC has published a "Senior Citizen Edition" of its voters guide for the first time, although there's nothing in it that appears to address issues that are of particular interest to seniors instead of voters at large. That's a curious matter, but irrelevant to our surprise.

The surprise is not the usual innuendo and half-truths. Richardson voters have come to expect that from the Richardson Coalition PAC's "Voters Guide." The surprise is not even that the Richardson Coalition PAC would stoop to springing April surprises. Maybe, in the end, there's nothing surprising about how Richardson politics are playing out this year. I had hoped that our city was better than this, but I can't really say I'm surprised.

After the jump, the April surprise.