Standing Up For What I Value

I feel it has become necessary to explain myself to folks who think they know me but don't.  They really don't.


Long, long ago, in a lifetime far, far away, I was the member of the family who stood up and faced down bull---- that passed for facts.  It got to the point that my parents would preface jokes and stories about African-Americans, and others, with the caveat that they weren't intending to be racist, but.....  I was the family progressive.


Eventually my mother told me that I was an advocate of the underdog.  It had less to do with being an advocate of the underdog and more to do with being an advocate for facts in lieu of innuendo and bull----.  So it has been over the Roberts Affair.  Some online commenters responded to the challenge to his candidacy by stating that this indicated he was not ready to run for alderman.  If he couldn't get it right getting his paperwork in order, why take him seriously as a candidate?  I knew enough to dismiss those comments as typical, knee jerk, responses to the limited information that was available.  But it didn't end there and I wound up blasting a party making claims that were not factual.  It's one thing to take issue with policy positions and prescriptions for change offered by a candidate.  It is entirely another matter to engage in the local equivalent of swift-boating.  I have learned that along the way my insistence on getting to the facts was morphed into support for Roberts' candidacy.


It is unfortunate that my action has been totally mis-read.  But given that my parents didn't get it, perhaps it should not surprise me that a non-family member has also missed the mark.


I know Blane and I like Blane.  He is not on the ballot, but he is running a write-in campaign.  He will have to work hard to get the attention and support of the voters.  Do I support him for Alderman?  No.  Nor do I support any of the candidates.


Moore has the advantage of being the incumbent, but that is not enough to gain my support.  White and Roberts will have to make their respective cases if they hope to unseat him.  This is not 2007 and Moore is not as vulnerable as he was then.  I looked at both Roberts' and White's sites today.  Roberts offers up broad policy proposals that are citywide in scope.  The relationship to specific ward issues is not always evident.  White offers up proposals drawn from initiatives that have been floating around, with the notable exception of the TIF/RIF, which he helped develop.  Roberts has no events scheduled.  White has a function on January 3.  I talked with a friend who was part of the 2007 campaign and he commented that he has seen very little from either of the challengers.  Both White's and Roberts' sites note that 54 days remain until the election but it would seem their campaigns have yet to get fully underway.  Consequently, it's too early for me to decide which candidate to support and vote for.


Thomas Westgard put it well in his latest comment about the campaign.  We need to know what the candidates stand for and care about.  I agree totally.  But I won't stop standing up for what I value, especially the facts.