The Democratic Primary: Who's Got the Marbles?

At the local level there were a number of mistakes we made as Democrats - mistakes that may have kept us from winning local races.

For starters, we mirrored the mistake the party made in the Governor's race. We had a three-way primary in the Northern District to see who would get the Democratic nomination. It was a bad idea. But none of the three candidates could be dissuaded. And at the end, the two losing candidates picked up their marbles and went home without offering much support to the winner.

If the Steeles ever threw their support back to the Democratic candidate, I missed it. Rene couldn't afford to because it would have alienated the handful of Republicans who follow her forum. Spot is a nice guy; and after losing in the primary we never heard from him again. Most of Spot's followers (judging from precinct returns) voted for the Republican candidate for Board of Supervisors.

Tom Childress was not much better. After dedicating decades of service to the Northern District, Childress considered leaving the party after losing the primary. It was Labor Day (three months down the road) before he came back to the table and supported the Democratic candidate for Board of Supervisor.

I've drawn the conclusion that a caucus in May would have been better than a primary in June. The fight would have been less public. Recovery time would have been shorter. The impact of people picking up their marbles and going home wouldn't have been so great...

Perhaps this weekend I'll tell you what I think of Charles Vernon and the people who consorted with him, and how that impacted the election.