Just a reminder about the primary election. I'm going to give a decent rundown of what's going on in my area (Pittsburgh Proper), feel free to leave comments about your own area. I'll add them in.
Cali's got a referendum on the budget, if you're there, please vote.
Follow me after the jump (plus an extracrunchy judicial election rant)
Phily Notes from Adam B:
Races to watch: DA and City Controller
Pittsburgh mayoral:
This will be the first real primary for Luke Ravenstaahl, who succeeded our last mayor after his untimely demise (umm... I think it was a heart attack? geez...I walked by the man's funeral!). What has Luke done? Well, it would be more accurate to ask what he Hasn't Done, as he's managed to put his foot through so many things. And then fix them. Some people will like that, others won't. Ravenstaahl appears able to get big apartment buildings to put up his signs, and not much else.
The other guy running is Dowd, a councilman from Highland Park. What's there to know about him? He's part of the anti-Ravenstaahl faction in city council... and is hated by a lot of people. Your mileage may vary, but he's a bold sort of guy. Dowd appears to be running an "obamalike" campaign. Down to the campaign posters. It's... really copycatlike. However, a lot of the non-career folks have his signs up (aka the people we flagged last year with Obama signs. the hillary folks seem to be sitting this one out).
And the lady running is a former police sergeant, Carmen Robinson, who now works as a Hill District lawyer. She seems sharp, but underfunded. As in "no campaign lit" and "no signs"
http://www.post-gazette.com/...
City Council:
South, West, Hill/Northside -- there are actual races! Not where I live, however. Anyone there, comment in the comments and I'll toss it up.
School Board:
Shealey V.S. Stone
Shealey's an environmental engineer, with kids at Kolfax.
Stone doesn't have her kids in a public school, and is trying to spin this as an asset.
Look at the CityPaper, they had a nice review on this race.
Further notes: Shealey seems relatively popular, particularly in the richer areas. Stone has signs up, but only in the richer areas, and they're sparser.
Judicial Elections:
Umm... hi! if you're not from PA, you may be wondering why we elect judges here. It's traditional, and it isn't a terribly good idea. It tends to lead to wacky judicial decisions, and a more patchwork, less even, more partisan (umm... both ways) judicial interpretation of the law. Nonetheless, people might actually pay attention to these this year, as some judges got convicted near philly (yes, that was diaried on kos). In short, it's a dumb system. And why is it so dumb? Well, in addition to the "it's impractical", you have the "Who are we voting for?" question. I've got mail from a bunch of judicial candidates, and I've seen countless "we have a family" ads on TV. That's... pretty much all the guidance you get, other than what the Bar Associations have to say. In short, you're picking people, but you have no real basis on the issues.
http://www.post-gazette.com/...
Just figured I'd toss the post gazette article up, as they've at least got enough pull to interview people. The citypaper noted that we have a gay guy running for judge, but deuced if I can remember who he was.
Adam B (from comments below) says support Anne Lazarus
Harrisburg Primary:
(terrypinder chiming in!)
Mayoral here too, Reed vs all comers. Reed apparently is an embezzler.