The announcement by NC Sen. Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) that she will seek the US Senate seat currently held by Republican US Sen. Elizabeth Dole comes three weeks after a staffer confirmed for YES! Weekly the accuracy of an Associated Press story stating that she would not run for US Senate.
In the meantime, Chapel Hill investment banker Jim Neal entered the race. Neal is running on a platform of fiscal conservatism and ending the war in Iraq, but what generated the most attention was Neal’s frank and unapologetic admission that he’s gay.
Here’s what Neal’s website says about his stance on Iraq:
In broad strokes: “Our troops have done everything we asked — and I don’t want to see any more of them die.”
The bold position: “It’s time to bring them home to the heroes’ welcome they have earned, to rejoin their families, resume their careers, and be part of their communities again.”
The caveat: “To guarantee we don’t have to send them back in a few years, we need to redeploy small strategic units in the region to counter terrorism and train Iraqi security forces.”
So why did Hagan change her mind and decide to join the fray?
“I’ve been inundated by requests from Democrats and Republicans throughout North Carolina to reconsider my position,” she told me in a phone conversation today. “I think that people don’t see her and don’t know what she’s done for them. The mood around the state is that we need change. I want to be that fresh voice in Washington.”
Hagan is critical of Bush’s handling of the Iraqi war — as are virtually all Democrats and most Republican these days.
“We need accountability to end the war in Iraq so we can reinvest those resources here at home,” she says in her official announcement. “How can Washington reject healthcare for 123,000 North Carolina children, while continuing to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on this mismanaged war?”
Hagan indicates that she does not favor Congress cutting off funding for the war.
She told me: “First and foremost, the president got us in the war, and it’s up to him to decide when to bring the troops home. I come from a military family, and I want to emphasize that I want to be sure that the men and women in the military have all the equipment they need.”
Hagan stresses her political stewardship as a state lawmaker.
“I’ve spent nine years in Raleigh,” she says. “I think I bring accountability to the budgetary process, and I’m a results-oriented leader. I want to bring those qualities to Washington on behalf of the people of North Carolina.”
Should anyone wonder (as I did) whether Hagan’s running to keep her Democratic rival, Jim Neal, from winning, she transfers the focus to the finish line — Election Day 2008.
“I am running against Liddy Dole,” Hagan says, “so that Kay Hagan can be the next US senator from North Carolina.”
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Woodard and Coffey endorse Clinkscale
This morning, Luther Falls convened a formal press conference to announce that he would endorse neither candidate for District 1. See blog post here
Fellow District 1 candidate Charles Coffey and at-large candidate Greg Woodard — both similarly eliminated in the primary — were there also. At the urging of several community leaders, including NC Rep. Earl Jones, they joined Falls, expecting to put forward a united front in support of Clinkscale.
"When he said he wasn’t going to endorse anyone, that caught me and the rest of the community leaders off guard,” Woodard told me in a phone conversation following the press conference. “We were shocked.”
He added: “I just got through talking to Earl Jones and some of the church leaders. He said, ‘Go ahead and share your statement.’”
Here’s what Woodard said about his support for Clinkscale: “I think we need the most professional and best-qualified person to work with the community leaders and not cause strife and pit one group against another…. I feel that we gave [incumbent] Dianne [Bellamy-Small] four years to try to improve our community and it’s time to let someone else have a chance.”
I called Coffey at Industries of the Blind, and he echoed Woodard’s sentiments.
“I just feel [Clinkscale] would be the better choice of the two,” he said. “I think that she’ll be able to work with the other council members better than Dianne would. Dianne takes a one-person approach and that’s not working.”
Here’s Woodard’s formal statement:
“In the past two week, I have received numerous phone calls from community leaders and business owners in District 1 (black and white). The topic of conversation was the state of our community and how displeased everyone is with the current representative. We all agreed this community needs a representative that will represent all the people, be it black, white, Hispanic, whatever the race. We all bleed, we all cry, we all face problems, we all live here and we all die here. But more important we all want the same thing: a safe place to live, enjoy life and grow old.
“They all talked about Tonya Clinkscale. How Tonya presents herself as a professional businesswoman; in dress, mannerisms, communication and understanding between people with different points of view. I kept hearing one word: Professional. She acts and carries herself in a professional manner.
“Throughout this campaign, I have watched her. She has shown a willingness to work with community leader and individuals in District 1. After talking with Tonya myself, I believe Tonya is attuned to the community needs, desires and wants, and therefore is the right person to represent District 1.”
Fellow District 1 candidate Charles Coffey and at-large candidate Greg Woodard — both similarly eliminated in the primary — were there also. At the urging of several community leaders, including NC Rep. Earl Jones, they joined Falls, expecting to put forward a united front in support of Clinkscale.
"When he said he wasn’t going to endorse anyone, that caught me and the rest of the community leaders off guard,” Woodard told me in a phone conversation following the press conference. “We were shocked.”
He added: “I just got through talking to Earl Jones and some of the church leaders. He said, ‘Go ahead and share your statement.’”
Here’s what Woodard said about his support for Clinkscale: “I think we need the most professional and best-qualified person to work with the community leaders and not cause strife and pit one group against another…. I feel that we gave [incumbent] Dianne [Bellamy-Small] four years to try to improve our community and it’s time to let someone else have a chance.”
I called Coffey at Industries of the Blind, and he echoed Woodard’s sentiments.
“I just feel [Clinkscale] would be the better choice of the two,” he said. “I think that she’ll be able to work with the other council members better than Dianne would. Dianne takes a one-person approach and that’s not working.”
Here’s Woodard’s formal statement:
“In the past two week, I have received numerous phone calls from community leaders and business owners in District 1 (black and white). The topic of conversation was the state of our community and how displeased everyone is with the current representative. We all agreed this community needs a representative that will represent all the people, be it black, white, Hispanic, whatever the race. We all bleed, we all cry, we all face problems, we all live here and we all die here. But more important we all want the same thing: a safe place to live, enjoy life and grow old.
“They all talked about Tonya Clinkscale. How Tonya presents herself as a professional businesswoman; in dress, mannerisms, communication and understanding between people with different points of view. I kept hearing one word: Professional. She acts and carries herself in a professional manner.
“Throughout this campaign, I have watched her. She has shown a willingness to work with community leader and individuals in District 1. After talking with Tonya myself, I believe Tonya is attuned to the community needs, desires and wants, and therefore is the right person to represent District 1.”
Falls announces he's endorsing no one for District 1
Luther Falls formally announced at a press conference today at Coffee at the Summit that he’s endorsing neither candidate for the District 1 seat in the general election for Greensboro City Council.
“I have concerns about both candidates,” Falls said. “The incumbent has been democratically elected twice and survived a recall. That’s an indication that the voters like her. My thing is to encourage people to vote.”
Falls, a candidate who was eliminated during the primary election after falling 45 votes behind second-place finisher Tonya Clinkscale. The incumbent, Dianne Bellamy-Small won with 701 votes, less than the combined votes received by Clinkscale (496) and Falls (451), so Falls’ endorsement would have given the challenger a boost in the general election.
While withholding support from either of the candidates in District 1, Falls added that he would campaign for Yvonne Johnson, who is running against Milton Kern for mayor.
Falls was accompanied by fellow candidates Charles Coffey and Greg Woodard, who were both also eliminated in the primary. Coffey was a candidate for District 1 and Woodard sought an at-large seat.
The conversation before Falls formal announcement centered on the connection between jobs and political representation in District 1.
Woodard provided the most revealing comment about the district’s challenges.
“District 1 hasn’t had good representation,” he said. “It should have been promoted as an economic gem from Day 1. Highway 220 goes out from there. Interstate 85 goes out from there. Interstate 40 goes out from there. Nobody has taken advantage of it. UPS did. They were smart. Why’s all the development going to the airport and West Wendover? It’s because the council members live there and they’re going to bring the jobs home. District 1 has one councilmember begging for scraps.”
“I have concerns about both candidates,” Falls said. “The incumbent has been democratically elected twice and survived a recall. That’s an indication that the voters like her. My thing is to encourage people to vote.”
Falls, a candidate who was eliminated during the primary election after falling 45 votes behind second-place finisher Tonya Clinkscale. The incumbent, Dianne Bellamy-Small won with 701 votes, less than the combined votes received by Clinkscale (496) and Falls (451), so Falls’ endorsement would have given the challenger a boost in the general election.
While withholding support from either of the candidates in District 1, Falls added that he would campaign for Yvonne Johnson, who is running against Milton Kern for mayor.
Falls was accompanied by fellow candidates Charles Coffey and Greg Woodard, who were both also eliminated in the primary. Coffey was a candidate for District 1 and Woodard sought an at-large seat.
The conversation before Falls formal announcement centered on the connection between jobs and political representation in District 1.
Woodard provided the most revealing comment about the district’s challenges.
“District 1 hasn’t had good representation,” he said. “It should have been promoted as an economic gem from Day 1. Highway 220 goes out from there. Interstate 85 goes out from there. Interstate 40 goes out from there. Nobody has taken advantage of it. UPS did. They were smart. Why’s all the development going to the airport and West Wendover? It’s because the council members live there and they’re going to bring the jobs home. District 1 has one councilmember begging for scraps.”
Conflict of interest?
From News Editor Jordan Green:
In the four hours that my most recent staff column, "Ask and you shall receive," has been posted to the web, it appears that I've stirred minimal controversy. I'm always anticipating a firestorm of condemnation, but often as not that expectation turns out to be a product of wild fantasy. With the exception of the Troublemaker — a limitless well of ire — and some mild opprobrium by Guarino, I've been mostly disappointed.
Here's something. In my column about Food Not Bombs I mentioned the group's designation by one FBI agent as a domestic terrorism group. I mentioned Greensboro Food Not Bombs' lack of cooperation with a UNCG cop. And I mentioned the icky controversy surrounding Dumpster-diving. What I didn't discuss — at least not at length — is my role in fundraising for the group. What readers would probably be interested to know is that I received a message from a state official expressing interest in making a donation. I'm not inclined to disclose this person's identity, and I'll take the heat for that.
It was my idea to organize the banquet. Part of what I brought to the table was my extensive list of contacts. I gather e-mail addresses as a reporter, and I gather e-mail addresses as a human being with social instincts. I do it compulsively. I sensed that there were progressive people in Greensboro with money who would want to support Food Not Bombs' work. I didn't solicit anyone personally, but I sent out a mass Evite advertising our banquet at the Hive last Saturday. I think that Food Not Bombs' work is worthy of community support.
In most cases I am pretty shamelessly transparent about every aspect of my life. So I'll acknowledge that I was both excited and a little unnerved when I received the message from the unnamed official asking how to get a check to Food Not Bombs. I never made any promise to keep the name a secret, but I ask myself would any of the donations have been made if the donors had been told their names would be published in YES! Weekly?
So here's another invitation: If the official wants to go public with their donation, this blog is a good place to do it. Otherwise the mystery will have to remain. In any case, I can promise that this person, to the extent that s/he shows up in my stories, will not receive more favorable coverage because of the donation.
In the four hours that my most recent staff column, "Ask and you shall receive," has been posted to the web, it appears that I've stirred minimal controversy. I'm always anticipating a firestorm of condemnation, but often as not that expectation turns out to be a product of wild fantasy. With the exception of the Troublemaker — a limitless well of ire — and some mild opprobrium by Guarino, I've been mostly disappointed.
Here's something. In my column about Food Not Bombs I mentioned the group's designation by one FBI agent as a domestic terrorism group. I mentioned Greensboro Food Not Bombs' lack of cooperation with a UNCG cop. And I mentioned the icky controversy surrounding Dumpster-diving. What I didn't discuss — at least not at length — is my role in fundraising for the group. What readers would probably be interested to know is that I received a message from a state official expressing interest in making a donation. I'm not inclined to disclose this person's identity, and I'll take the heat for that.
It was my idea to organize the banquet. Part of what I brought to the table was my extensive list of contacts. I gather e-mail addresses as a reporter, and I gather e-mail addresses as a human being with social instincts. I do it compulsively. I sensed that there were progressive people in Greensboro with money who would want to support Food Not Bombs' work. I didn't solicit anyone personally, but I sent out a mass Evite advertising our banquet at the Hive last Saturday. I think that Food Not Bombs' work is worthy of community support.
In most cases I am pretty shamelessly transparent about every aspect of my life. So I'll acknowledge that I was both excited and a little unnerved when I received the message from the unnamed official asking how to get a check to Food Not Bombs. I never made any promise to keep the name a secret, but I ask myself would any of the donations have been made if the donors had been told their names would be published in YES! Weekly?
So here's another invitation: If the official wants to go public with their donation, this blog is a good place to do it. Otherwise the mystery will have to remain. In any case, I can promise that this person, to the extent that s/he shows up in my stories, will not receive more favorable coverage because of the donation.
Dealing with the media
Here's how NYC City Councilman James Oddo deals with ridiculous questions from the press. (NSFW — language and attitude)
Okay, so it wasn't real media — the spot was for a Swedish hidden-camera show — but I think there may be a lesson to learn in this footage. I don't know about the rest of you, but I respect the hell out of Oddo for, at least, having a highly sensitive bullshit detector and for not taking crap from anybody. Could anyone imagine our own civic leaders enacting such a display of — I'll just say it — balls?
Okay, so it wasn't real media — the spot was for a Swedish hidden-camera show — but I think there may be a lesson to learn in this footage. I don't know about the rest of you, but I respect the hell out of Oddo for, at least, having a highly sensitive bullshit detector and for not taking crap from anybody. Could anyone imagine our own civic leaders enacting such a display of — I'll just say it — balls?
Ann Coulter gets her crazy on
Man, am I glad I decided to dump Ann Coulter.
Breakups are hard, sure, but when your ex starts spewing crazy like a Roman candle, the lunacy coming off her in waves, it makes things so much easier.
Ann believes we should all be Christian, and that Jews should convert as to make them "perfect." Or some such bullshit.
Oh, and the twat has a book out. I won't link to it. I'm through selling books for her.
Honestly, what do people see in her? I am not an easy man to offend, yet I recoil just about every time she opens her mouth. I don't even want to sleep with her. Anymore.
And yet this broad keeps getting TV gigs, public speaking engagements, book deals. She will not be denied.
Though this time she may have gone too far. Irregardless of what the Wikipedia says, I suspect there may be some members of the Tribe who wield some influence in television and publishing. Maybe they can smoke her out.
Breakups are hard, sure, but when your ex starts spewing crazy like a Roman candle, the lunacy coming off her in waves, it makes things so much easier.
Ann believes we should all be Christian, and that Jews should convert as to make them "perfect." Or some such bullshit.
Oh, and the twat has a book out. I won't link to it. I'm through selling books for her.
Honestly, what do people see in her? I am not an easy man to offend, yet I recoil just about every time she opens her mouth. I don't even want to sleep with her. Anymore.
And yet this broad keeps getting TV gigs, public speaking engagements, book deals. She will not be denied.
Though this time she may have gone too far. Irregardless of what the Wikipedia says, I suspect there may be some members of the Tribe who wield some influence in television and publishing. Maybe they can smoke her out.
Coverage: Who are these people?
In terms of man-hours, this week's cover image wasn't that big a deal (the same wasn't true of the story itself, which took hours for our reporters to compile and me to lay out in print and post online).
Ethically, there are some interesting issues at play.
When dealing with election coverage, things get... complicated. After some debate in the office, is was decided we would run as many of the candidates' photos as we could manage to get. For some, this meant running file photos; others provided images or agreed to meet us for a shoot. The result is that some photos were better than others.
My preference would have been to bring each candidate into the office, where we can regulate the quality of the images to insure a level playing field. Unfortunately, we had neither the clout nor the resources. What we were able to do is keep each image at relatively the same size, avoiding giving prominence to any one over the other.
As for the cover, I didn't sweat it as much. The goal here was simple to show the range and diversity of the candidates, not to squeeze as many on as possible. Without their names attached, the photos can't unfairly impact your vote — a good reason not to include photos on the ballot.
Overall, the candidates' images should serve to lend them a sense of humanity. The Nixon-Kennedy debate aside, looks should not play a role in your vote — unless you still believe in Physiognomy
Ethically, there are some interesting issues at play.
When dealing with election coverage, things get... complicated. After some debate in the office, is was decided we would run as many of the candidates' photos as we could manage to get. For some, this meant running file photos; others provided images or agreed to meet us for a shoot. The result is that some photos were better than others.
My preference would have been to bring each candidate into the office, where we can regulate the quality of the images to insure a level playing field. Unfortunately, we had neither the clout nor the resources. What we were able to do is keep each image at relatively the same size, avoiding giving prominence to any one over the other.
As for the cover, I didn't sweat it as much. The goal here was simple to show the range and diversity of the candidates, not to squeeze as many on as possible. Without their names attached, the photos can't unfairly impact your vote — a good reason not to include photos on the ballot.
Overall, the candidates' images should serve to lend them a sense of humanity. The Nixon-Kennedy debate aside, looks should not play a role in your vote — unless you still believe in Physiognomy
Greensboro Primary '07: Who are these people?
The Greensboro municipal primary election is on Tuesday, Oct. 9., when the current field of 32 is narrowed down to 18 — six hopefuls for three at-large seats and two candidates each for five district seats and two candidates for mayor. The primary has no bearing on three elections, for Districts 2 and 4 and the mayor’s race, which have only two candidates each.
Still the primary is important, particularly in the at-large race and in District 1, where beleaguered incumbent Dianne Bellamy-Small will try to defend her seat after a failed campaign to remove her from office. District 3, where most of the campaign money is, should be one to watch as well.
But who are all these people? What do they stand for?
We’ve done the homework for you. We sent out a questionaire to all 32 candidates touching on 10 of what we feel are the most important issues of the day. Just about all of them responded. We’re publishing excerpts in our print edition to help you decide how to cast your vote on Tuesday — the complete responses are posted here, on the YES! Weekly blog. A complete list of links to each candidate’s response, organized by race, is here.
Another word: We gave the candidates a forum to express their views. How — and if — they used it was up to them, and will reflect on our endorsements, which will come out just in time for Election Day 2007.
Still the primary is important, particularly in the at-large race and in District 1, where beleaguered incumbent Dianne Bellamy-Small will try to defend her seat after a failed campaign to remove her from office. District 3, where most of the campaign money is, should be one to watch as well.
But who are all these people? What do they stand for?
We’ve done the homework for you. We sent out a questionaire to all 32 candidates touching on 10 of what we feel are the most important issues of the day. Just about all of them responded. We’re publishing excerpts in our print edition to help you decide how to cast your vote on Tuesday — the complete responses are posted here, on the YES! Weekly blog. A complete list of links to each candidate’s response, organized by race, is here.
Another word: We gave the candidates a forum to express their views. How — and if — they used it was up to them, and will reflect on our endorsements, which will come out just in time for Election Day 2007.
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