| User Blox 4 |
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Barack Obama  |
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Rob Kailey is a working schmuck with no ties or affiliations to any governmental or political organizations, save those of sympathy.
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Wed Nov 07, 2007 at 08:04:16 AM MST
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| The results of municipal elections are in, and the results are in and good.
Both of the Iraqi war referendums passed. In Missoula, 64 percent of voters asked their delegates to bring home the troops, and in Helena 61 percent of voters did the same. That's about as lopsided as it gets. Let's hope this adds a little more action and urgency to our Senators who've already spoken out against the war, and causes our sole Representative to reconsider his as yet unflagging support of President Bush.
In the Missoula city council elections the news was good, too. First, Jason Wiener won his ward 1 race in a rout. Jason's a good friend; we shared an office together at the University for a short while. I can say this with confidence: Missoula has just elected one of the smartest people you'll ever meet, and I'm confident the council, city, and citizens will benefit by his presence in our city government. Congratulations to Jason. |
| Jay Stevens :: Municipal election results |
| Two incumbents were knocked off the council: Pam Walzer ousted Don Nicholson in ward 2, and Lyn Hellegaard ousted Jerry Ballas in ward 6. (The results are still unofficial, though, so this could change.) Walzer's win, if it holds up, is tremendous news. Nicholson has been an occasional roadblock to good growth in the city; Walzer's win gives the city a chance to better plan for the future. As for ward 6, Hellegaard is pretty dang conservative, while Ballas is a crank, I think ward 6 voters are going to regret their selection. Ballas did, after all, support some needed city infrastructure and the city pools; it's likely Hellegaard would've voted "no," as I suspect she'll do with every project that comes before her.
Two incumbents kept their seats - as of this blog post. Stacy Rye of ward 2 and Ed Childers in ward 6 appear to have kept their seats, although Childers is involved in a squeaker against Lewie Schneller. If that somehow changes in the next few hours, that would be a travesty. Childers sometimes rubs folks the wrong way with his sarcastic manner, but he's the glue that holds the council together. He's the numbers man, the pragmatist. Schneller appeared to be in over his head this election. He election mailers appeared to violate campaign laws; he was taking directions from (unnamed) sitting council members; and his views on growth showed he had little grasp of the issues - one of his major concerns is affordable housing, yet he's against infill. How can you reduce cost if you can't build houses? Apartment buildings are needed, too - there's a 1 percent vacancy rate in Missoula apartments! An anti-growth candidate winning a council seat now would be disastrous. Let's keep our fingers crossed for Childers.
In ward 5, Renee Mitchell looks to have defeated Christine Prescott by a slim margin.
Congratulations to the winners. And here's to the new city council, which should be quite different in makeup. Let's hope there's less acrimony and more progress on the issues that affect Missoula. |
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| Purely Hypothetical, of course, but - The best candidate for the Republicans for US Senate is: |
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Results
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