Could it have rained any more yesterday? I ended up using a second umbrella since my first umbrella was saturated. I didn't know that was possible! I learned a lot yesterday.
I heard of stories of James Cannon's signs being ripped down at, at least, two different polling locations and sitting board members were retelling the stories with delight. In fact, I witnessed a current school board director and candidate, relate the pathetic actions with a smile on her face to another candidate. What an example for our kids.
I also learned that the campaign boards outside Foster School belong to the School District. James Cannon and I were told by the Republican Committee, that since we were not endorsed by the Committee, that we were not permitted to post our signs on that board. Truth be told, we were misinformed. Since they are owned by the School District, we had every right to have our signs on that board. Note for the Fall, Jim!
Finally, I watched my opponent encroach the entrance throughout the day, (he couldn't stand out in the rain as I did) to the point, by the end of the day, he was standing in the middle of the inner steps leading to the hallway of Foster School. Voters had to walk around him as they tried to enter the hallway. In addition, I listened to him tell his supporters that he was looking at an area to relocate that is only 0.642 miles away from his current residence. Didn't he report to the media that he and his family were moving far away? I believe that was also under sworn testimony. Also, it was interesting how he put a spin on his abandoned construction equipment on Terrace sitting idle for two years, when his constituents complained to him about it.
Sour grapes? Heck no. I gave the Republican Committee a run for their money. In 2007, Ol' Joe got 505 votes. This year, he only got 318. His future opponent in the 2011 General Election received 440 votes yesterday. As an incumbent, I would be concerned. Either way, Ward 3 is faced with another four long years ahead.
Thanks to all who braved the horrible weather yesterday and came out to vote - for me, and in general. The skies cleared up at 8 p.m. I would also like to thank my VERY supportive committee and especially all the people who voted for me. I have no regrets. I enjoyed meeting so many new people and learned that the majority of my neighbors are just trying to survive, just like me.
Thanks, folks.
Elaine
9 comments:
Well, sorry about your loss. I did see that Mr Cannon did better than expected on the Republican side.
James Edmund Cannon 1,542 20.51%
Scott D. Goldman 1,302 17.32%
Ed Kubit 1,300 17.29%
Elaine L. Cappucci 1,194 15.88%
Lawrence Mark Lebowitz 1,099 14.62%
William L. Cooper 1,014 13.49%
WRITE-IN 67 .89%
Beating the "endorsed" party candidates by 3% is good work. (What does that say about the party and the endorsement?) But he'll need to do a lot more work to get his message out. On the Democratic side:
Elaine L. Cappucci 2,074 22.55%
Lawrence Lebowitz 2,034 22.11%
William L. Cooper 1,795 19.52%
Ed Kubit 1,561 16.97%
Scott D. Goldman 1,513 16.45%
WRITE-IN 221 2.40%
Elaine, the best person doesn't always win, unfortunately.
With all that is going on or not going as is the case with the high school project, a 22% voter turn out is appalling. That the SB incumbents that burned through $6 million dollars and oversaw a drop in stakeholder satisfaction got any votes is beyond me. Residents are apathetic and deserve exactly what they'll get.
You put in an amazing effort for a political novice and for the good of the community I for one hope you will continue your activism.
As for the petty, immature shenanigans put on by some of the entrenched politicos, it speaks volumes about Mt. Lebanon.
Dick Saunders
From the Mt. Lebanon Republican Committee web site: "Mission
To foster the growth and prosperity of all residents of Mt. Lebanon (and our region and country)
To support elected leadership in effective and responsible governance
To facilitate camaraderie and exchange of ideas among members
To encourage and support Republican principles"
I'm wondering where was the camaraderie displayed by republican members towards another republican candidate?
Were they encouraging and supporting the Republican principles? Or just protecting their own behinds. The MTLRC should change its mascot from an elephant to an ass! Oh, wait that'd be too similar to the democratic symbol.
-Giffen Good
A 22% voter turn out is, indeed, appalling; but given the fact that all but one of the candidates were running as “Demopublicans,” and given the fact that most people follow the directions on the machine (vote for no more than..), it would not have mattered if the turnout was 1% or 100%.
As to having to run a gauntlet of politicians to get into a polling place: why this is tolerated here is a mystery to me. My wife hates going to the polls for this very reason. Do these people actually think they are winning anyone's approbation, or changing anyone's mind, by doing this? When I lived in New York if a politician was in the hallway leading to a voting area and tried to hand out propaganda, the police would have come to “escort” said politician out.
Richard Gideon
I think that simply the fact that James Cannon received as many voes as he did, should send a message to all. we are tired of the same old message being delivered by the school board.
As for Elaine's campaign, I am proud to have contributed everything that I did. (Believe me, it wasn't much, compared to the contributions of time by others.) I am confident that by continuing our activism, we can make a change. We have to...any other option is unacceptable.
The rain didn't really slow down the voters in Ward 3. I compared the numbers from the 2007 Primary to yesterday's. Andy Reinhart had 450 votes. Linfante received 440 votes. Both were running upopposed. In 2007, Joe received 505 votes, while in 2011, he only received 318. Total Republican votes in 2011 came to 494. That means 11 people less voted this year. Not bad for such lousy weather. Write in votes pretty much canceled themselves out. There were 26 write in votes on the Republican ballot and 30 write in votes on the Democratic ballot. So much for the write in campaign strategy. Republicans actually came out ahead on that one.
Elaine
You don't know how much I wanted to write "Giffen Good" in for School Board...
As for the gauntlet of partisans you have to go through at the polls, I've found saying something shocking is the best thing to do. For instance, I'll say "I'm sorry, I don't vote for Communists" and just walk off. It takes them a second to think about what I just said.
Jack, you should have been at Foster School yesterday around dinner time. A man was really angry with Elaine Cappucci over the high school renovation project. They were going back and forth for quite some time. This was before he went in to vote. He started by asking who was there representing the school board. Which candidate was against the project? I told him that James Cannon didn't support the current board's agenda. Then he asked who was for the project. I suggested that he speak to Elaine Cappucci. I also suggested that he speak with Kristen Linfante and Rob Papke who were among the people that said we could get it all for just $18 a month and were standing with Elaine Cappucci.
Maybe Giffen Good got some votes. Does anyone know how we can get the list of write ins? Neil, do you have any experience with that?
Elaine
A few thoughts:
1. To start with Elaine's question, I believe the Elections department eventually releases the list of write-in votes. If not, I'm sure you can call them and get the list. In some cases (like the Republican DA race), it actually matters moving forward. All they do on election night is count the number of write-ins. It takes a couple of weeks in most jurisdictions to verify who the write-ins were for. Often, people don't write the candidate's name exactly, but voter intent is usually the criterion. For instance, a write-in for Mr. Cannon that simply said Cannon might be considered enough. James Cannon would almost certainly suffice (even though it could, ironically, be for his dad).
2. Speaking of the DA race, that's an example of where write-in campaigns can work. Mr. McCulloch almost certainly got the most write-in votes in the Republican primary for DA, and he may very well have gotten the 500 needed to secure the nomination. Running a write-in campaign when there are no actual candidates on the ballot makes some sense. Mr. Zappala could have countered by running his own campaign to get Republican write-ins. If he'd gotten over 500 and beaten Mr. McCulloch, he would then have both the Democratic and Republican nominations. That, indeed, was the Ravenstahl strategy in the last election. He was going to be the Democratic nominee, and there were two opponents running as independents. Ravenstahl urged Republicans (who had no candidates) to write him in. I can't recall for sure, but I think he ended up with the Republican line as well.
3. While I didn't get to vote at all yesterday (I'm an independent), and while ideological differences would have prevented me from voting for you, Elaine, in November, I think you ran an excellent campaign (perhaps minus the signature challenge).
4. You're also to be commended for restricting yourself religiously to the 10 foot perimeter. Candidates of all stripes seem to violate that all the time. I agree with Mr. Gideon (perhaps because I, too, am a native New Yorker). A 50 foot or 100 foot perimeter (like they require in New York) is much more civilized. The time for campaigning is not as someone is going in to vote.
5. I think Cooper-Cannon will be a pretty close and exciting race.--Neil
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