(The Dallas Mayoral runoff is only days away. We hope that you'll support Democrat Ed Oakley. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Well, I've been wondering when the religious right assault would kick in. And it finally did today. The Dallas mayoral run-off between Ed Oakley and Tom Leppert is next Saturday, June 16. Early voting started June 4th.
Over the past week, and in Leppert's television ads, his campaign has been complaining about the Oakley campaign's "negative" ads, the recent endorsement of Oakley by the Dallas County Democrats (making the race appear to be overly-partisan according to some) and the stories about Oakley's sexual orientation seem to be getting a fair share of the attention in the press. Here and here. And now this. The robocalls. If you're not sure what that is, this overview from Alternet should help.
But back to the Dallas Robocalls...*Update*~ Audio here.
Although this happened last week I saw no comment on BOR and wanted to bring the topic up for discussion.
I don’t believe that party establishment should inject itself in traditional non-partisan races by openly endorsing certain candidates over another. Yes, I know candidates swing one-way or another, but so what? There is nothing restricting an individual, regardless of Party affiliation, from working for, or donating to, any candidate they please, but Party structure I believe should stay out of it.
In the particular case of Dallas, who is riding a successful Democratic wave the last two cycles, the risk of Ed Oakley losing to Tom Leppert, a pro-business conservative Republican with lots of money, would serve to harm the Party’s momentum going into 2008. You don’t need that egg on your face.
As expected, the Dallas Mayor race is headed to a runoff, between the two top fundraisers in the race: Tom Leppert and BOR honorable mention Ed Oakley. BOR honorable mention Don Hill was a distant third. BOR endorsed candidate Sam Coats ran sixth. I do want to give some mad props to Jennifer Gale, as KT alluded to earlier. Ms Gale is a transsexual homeless former Marine who has run for office multiple times. She managed to finish in ninth place out of the eleven candidates!
Other BOR endorsed candidates, Councilmembers Pauline Medrano and Angela Hunt both won decisive victories. Joseph Hernandez and Betty Culbreath will both be sent into June runoffs in their respective races. Jill Kotvis barely missed making a runoff by less than a percentage point. And as for me, John McClelland, I lost by a decisive margin.
Click here for the Dallas County joint election totals.
Municipal elections are being held statewide this Saturday May 12th. These elections are nonpartisan, however many of the races have devolved into who is the better Democrat or Republican in their off time. Some have even gone so far as to run commercials, showing them posing with 2008 Presidential hopefuls in the GOP.
We here at Burnt Orange Report have decided to offer up our own endorsements in these races throughout the state (even if you see these posted under one of our own names, the endorsement is from BOR as a whole).
After some thoughtful debate, our endorsement for Mayor of Dallas is Sam Coats. Mr. Coats is one of a handful of Democrats in a field of 11 candidates and makes no qualms about it. He even held a seat in the Texas State Legislature for one term in 1970. He holds a law degree from University of Texas Austin. He has served as chairman of the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau, the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, and the Dallas Long Range Water Supply Plan. He served as co-chairman of the United Negro College Fund, and as a board member of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce, the Salvation Army, and the Circle Ten Council, Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Coats was hired as CEO of Schlotzsky’s in 2004 and helped turn the company around from bankruptcy into profitability. He also was a major player in the Wright Amendment compromise in 2006 here in the DFW region, which helped solved the debate between Dallas and Fort Worth over Love Field and DFW Airport.
Odd numbered years are not known for their election year excitement, but in May 2007 there is an open position that no less than 19 people are interested in, with at least 10 of which being viable candidates. The Dallas city elections will be held this spring, ushering in new councilmen and a new mayor in one of Texas's largest cities. But what is normally a bipartisan affair, could very well turn into who is more "blue" than the other.
The November midterm elections ushered in a new era in Dallas county, as well as city politics. Dallas residents cast a resounding vote for change and let it be known that they are not quite as conservative as they once were. With almost every Democrat in the county sweeping to victory, the political landscape has changed.
While Dallas itself has maintained an official policy that candidates running for office on the city council be nonpartisan candidates, voters are becoming more and more likely to vote for who they believe hold the same political preferences that they do. And with more Democratic voters casting their votes, it will be possible that more and more liberal minded candidates make it to the council, and to the position of mayor.
