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Calling
the Primary: Last month, I put on the turban of Karnak, the Prognosticator, and predicted the outcome of the March primary. It wasn’t difficult, as many races were pretty obvious. The election was a reminder (as national columnists have pointed out) that big money, negative campaigning, and distortion of truth really work well in this country. It’s different in Nevada County – we don’t have big money. With 100% of the precincts reporting, here’s how the races turned out. President. George W. Bush and Al Gore. It was easy to be right about this one. My, my, my. For some reason, Republicans won’t acknowledge that George W. is an empty suit, and absolutely unqualified to be President. It proves that money and no ideas will get you farther than ideas and no money. Also read Molly Ivins’ recent column, "How Patients Got Their Rights," where she shows how George W. just plain lied about enacting patient protection laws in Texas. There there’s Al Gore, trying not to be wooden, not to be charmless, and not be Clinton. I guess we don’t need no stinkin’ Bradley or McCain. Too bad. Senator. Feinstein and Campbell. Easy to be right. Who else was running? Di Fi is an incumbent, convinced she’s doing us good, and therefore obliged to run again. Tom Campbell might have a chance in November, but only if he works incredibly hard and spends a lot. U.S. Representative. Wally Herger, again. Easy to be right. The irrepressible appeal of this man is beyond belief. I guess Nevada County demands a bowl of oatmeal as its Congressional representative. State Senator. Oller the Republican, with Karen Knecht making a strong showing. Right again. However, I was wrong about Democrat Scott Gruendl, who got precious few votes. Member of the State Assembly. Sam Aanestad, DDS. Hard to be wrong about this one, and he’s sure to be a shoe-in in November. Apparently, Bernie Richter’s departure (from the Assembly and from this earth) created a cavity which required filling. Sending a dentist from Nevada County to the Legislature is our crowning achievement,. Proposition 22. The "Marriage is Good for Straight People" initiative. Passed. I didn’t comment on this one last month. You know, I now sleep better at night knowing the County Clerk/Recorder’s office will never be overrun by Nevada County’s vast gay population demanding marriage licenses. I can feel at peace, and "at one" with all the demented right-wing religious crank pinheads who voted for this one. Supervisorial District 1. Peter Van Zant and Greg Seghezzi in an eight-month runoff campaign. I predicted a 5 to 4 split (55% to 45%) for Van Zant. After removing Pat Ingram’s 885 votes, the figures are 51% to 49% of the balance. Wow! This will closer than I thought. Peter will probably maintain his "Keep Nevada County Great" theme. That’s bizarre, because 1) when you look at our problems, Nevada County isn’t great; and 2) he hasn’t made it great nor does he keep it great. I suggested to Peter some time back that he not make the RQC his poster child for this campaign. Worse for him, the RQC is his running mate. Seghezzi was appalling on FCAT election night coverage, unable or unwilling to express even ONE thing he would do if elected. "Listen to all the people" doesn’t count, Greg. If you don’t want to look stupid or evasive, it’s time to learn to give a victory statement. He’ll also need to come to debates, and maybe shake that image as The Candidate with The Giant Signs. Supervisorial District 2. I was semi-wrong. No toss-up. Clarke pulled ahead of Conley by 765 votes, and they’ll face each other in November. Bet you Conley wishes he had the 1002 votes cast for two other candidates. Supervisorial District 5. Barbara Green, taking it in the primary. I said "too close to call." Wrongo, big time. Call it hard work or appealing message, but this was the big dramatic victory of the election. In Nevada City, congratulations to David McKay for showing that if you work at it, you’ll get elected. Congratulations to Tom Balch for showing that if you do a good job, you’ll get re-elected. And special congratulations to Steve Cottrell, for showing that you can state you won’t run, and then run, and you’ll still get re-elected. Barry Schoenborn is a technical writer, and an 11-year resident of Nevada County. His column appears the second Saturday of the month. You can write to him at barry@wvswrite.com. The opinions of columnists are not necessarily those of The Union. |