It stinks that the mayoral race is pretty much determined in the primary. I prefer not to be a member of either major party, but have to sign up temporarily if I want to cast a meaningful ballot.
I hear you Hyla, I’m just a pragmatist when it comes down to it. Either a grassroots group needs to make this their key issue and organize and fight for it or people just need to play the game how it’s currently set up to play.
Chris Briem rocks, and he’s data-driven, not an ideologue.
It is remarkable how much the city is open/vulnerable to any group that was capable of organizing and delivering themselves as a voting block and sustaining that over a few years.
For instance, the students in Oakland have enough numbers to change the elections. There’s lots of demographics that could do it. (that explains the political power of certain labor unions, and my hat’s off to them for working it)
Maybe it speaks to the melting pot, maybe it speaks to inertia/disenfranchisement or the difficulty some people have of just getting through the month, maybe it speaks to the fact that we’re consumers more than citizens, I don’t know.
I do highly recommend Nullspace. He’s a real nice person – and he’s a bicyclist, here’s his trip report about riding to DC. I really like it, it takes the format of alternating voices of Chris and his partner.
Personally, I don’t vote in primaries if I have to be registered w/ a party in order to do so. Although I strongly favor the dems over the gop (a party that doesn’t believe in government really has no place in government imho)… I don’t connect enough with the Dems to be bothered.
Not sure what you mean by clear cut, but yes there are lots of issues we asked each of the candidates to weigh in on from their position on bike share to cycle tracks. Answers being published around May 1.