Midterm Elections 2010 : Autumn House Cleaning
60The Shot We Had To Make
It was a long election day, yesterday, November 2, 2010. Long...but it went by as smoothly as a Ryan Express fastball zinging past a major league bat and into the catcher's glove. The Giants had just won the World Series...now, America has just won the latest battle it had to win to survive.
Heads up, Mr. President. Take heart, Israel. Get nervous, you terror-terriers. Reveille has just sounded in the Home of the Brave. We're ba-a-ack!
That said, we won't spend a lot of time on this page discussing the conservative ascendancy that enabled Republicans to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives. All you (or anyone else) need to do is turn on your TV set; the airwaves are literally flooded with coverage of that topic. Details later? Sure. Disappointments in key races our side did not win? Absolutely. Keen interest in which candidates endorsed by Sarah Palin actually produced? You betcha.
But there's another keystone in our Constitutional republic's arch that deserves mention today: The local scene. And when it comes to Cochise County, Arizona, we aced that test.
Three Key Situations
This year, residents in our area faced three key challenges--none of them easy:
1. Three seats on the five-person Board which governs the Palominas Fire District. Tommy Stoner, Debbie Stoner, and Craig Duncan challenged two incumbents (Don Mott and Josh VanderVeen); the third seat was open. The challengers listed numerous problems with the existing administration that, if corrected, would result in lower taxes and better service for Fire District taxpayers. The entrenched "power elite" threw the usual gobs of mud.
It was a mini version of the national scene. When the ballots were counted, it became clear the voters ended up believing it was time for a change:
PALOMINAS FIRE DIST.
DUNCAN, CRAIG . . . . . . …………. . 606
MOTT, DON . . . . . . . . . . ………...….522
STONER, DEBORA "DEBBIE". . . . . 677
STONER, TOMMY . . . . . ……… . . . 655
VANDER VEEN, JOSH. . . . . ...…. . . 502
Yep. All three challengers came out winners. It was certainly a prime example of every vote counting, as Craig Duncan received just 84 more votes than did Don Mott. It won't matter, though. As they say, a miss is as good as a mile.
2. A referendum on a proposed Water District. This is one boondoggle I personally spotted months ago as a purely political scam designed to grow bureaucracy, raise taxes, and take over my right to manage my own well on my own property. There was nothing good about it--but its advocates spent a lot of money "selling" it to the electorate with a heaping platter of lies, and defeating the monster was anything but a lead pipe cinch.
We did it, though.
UPPER SAN PEDRO WATER DIST.
YES. . . . . . . . . . 10,544
NO. . . . . . . . . . . 11,304
The margin of victory: 760 votes. Important note: Early voting actually favored the District's formation; only Election Day itself reversed that trend, indicating that strong efforts to get out the word in the last few days made the difference.
3. Clerk of the Superior Court. Here, an extremely competent challenger, Mary Ellen Dunlap, was determined to unseat incumbent Denise Lundin. She (Mary Ellen) knew she could upgrade the Clerk's office to better serve both the public and the Court. Dunlap campaigned on the issues while Lundin resorted to slickery, implied putdowns that made little sense to an intelligent voter. As with the Water District, however, early voting favored the other side...and We the People won the day only at the polls. The final tally, with a winning margin of 1,634 votes:
CLERK OF THE SUPERIOR COURT
LUNDIN, DENISE (DEM). . . . . . . ……16,993
DUNLAP, MARY ELLEN (REP) . . . . .. 18,627
Note: These are unofficial figures obtained from the official Arizona website page for election results in Cochise County, which states:
These unofficial results consist of all early ballots and ballots cast at the polls which have been submitted by 64 of 64 precincts. These results are subject to change pending verification by the Cochise County Recorder's Office of provisional ballots and early ballots dropped off at the polls. Results will remain unofficial until canvassed by the Cochise County Board of Supervisors.
Now, hmmm...where did I put that manual on Hunting Lame Ducks...?
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Thanks.
Okay, let's see...that was Round 1 in our 15-round Heavyweight Championship contest. (We know it's a fight per se because Obama has said it would be "hand-to-hand combat" if we won on November 2 AND because Harry Reid got all cocky the moment he won and also used the word "fight" a whole bunch.)
Now, we know they're soft in the gut. Gotta remember to body-punch, use those left hooks, not just regress to amateur status and go back to nothing but head-hunting....
Oh. Sorry. Got caught up in the boxing analogies...:)
I'm afraid Colorado is still confused!
No kidding.
Update on the Arizona CD7 and CD8 races: I just took a look at the details. Both incumbents are leading, but it's NOT over in either one. Not just yet.
In CD7, Grijalva leads McClung by 3,586 votes with one precinct not yet reporting. But I suspect it may be a precinct with huge numbers, because the total votes tallied look pretty low for that District overall. Plus the provisional ballots--meaning mail-in ballots that were not mailed but were instead delivered to the polling stations yesterday--have not yet been counting. And as I electioneered with a clear view of one polling station's entry door all day yesterday, it was obvious that there could be a LOT of those provisional ballots.
So we'll see on that one.
In CD8, Jesse Kelly is trailing incumbent Gabrielle Giffords by 2,477 votes--again with 1 precinct yet to report and the provisional ballots yet to be counted.
Good to hear that your local situation looks to improve.
I saw the Incumbent had declared victory over McClung, and was saddened. I'd told every rocket scientist I know that a rocket scientist was running for Congress, and perhaps things will be looking up. I know that doesn't mean a lot, but, hey, the sentiment is there.
Hopefully the victory declaration is just another case of crowing at the pre-dawn sky, rather than waiting for sunup. (Old roosters tend to do that, you know, if somewhat weakly) I'd find it hard to believe that any district would vote in someone who would ask that his constituents be boycotted.
Glad to hear of the progress in Az. Sadly here in CA we have gone off the cliff. I have no idea what the people are thinking... Lots of work to do here. Unfortunately, California has a sizable impact on the National Economy. Keep up the good work.
Jim, it's too bad we didn't get rid of either Giffords or Grijalva--this time. But Ruth only missed Raul by 3.19%. If she'd had GOP backing a few months earlier, it would've been a done deal. As for Jesse Kelly, HE only missed taking Giffords by 0.95%. In BOTH cases, we'll aim better next time.
And my anti-Grijalva hubs, in particular, now have two whole years for people to notice them. Views today, interestingly enough, were UP.
In BOTH cases, the key to incumbents hanging on was Pima County--which has a LOT of border miles. Interesting, eh?
Tom, I'm with you regarding California. Lived there for a while, even (1985-1989), but managed to escape. Boxer's survival definitely grinds my gears, as I've detested her politics since 1994 (gun ban support). Star Parker should also have done better.
But...Moonbeam again?
Guess it's a matter--not so much of what the people are thinking, but that they're NOT thinking...just whining, "Don't cut my entitlements! I don't wanna have to make my OWN living! The World OWES me!"
Or something like that.
Hmrjmr1 Level 3 Commenter 18 months ago
Ghost - You have during this election done a great service both in your community and across the nation. Well Done lad!