tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203221.post1153383019805455512..comments2023-09-07T06:32:12.677-07:00Comments on Richard Sprague: How to win a local electionRichard Spraguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03470273961021829567noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203221.post-84677073528370316272007-11-21T07:31:00.000-08:002007-11-21T07:31:00.000-08:00Thanks everyone for your comments.Incidentally, he...Thanks everyone for your comments.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, here's why I post under my real name:<BR/><A HREF="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004012034_webyakcouncilblog13.html" REL="nofollow" TITLE="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004012034_webyakcouncilblog13.html">http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004012034_webyakcouncilblog13.html</A>Richard Spraguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03470273961021829567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203221.post-82325803660846363262007-11-20T08:38:00.000-08:002007-11-20T08:38:00.000-08:00Richard,I enjoy your blog. I think both you and t...Richard,<BR/><BR/>I enjoy your blog. I think both you and the previous poster make some very valid points. I agree with you the Maureen ran a poor campaign. I still voted for her. My wife sent an email to her about transportation issues and got no response, not even something from a staffer. I felt like she took the voters for granted particulaly after her primary victory, an as you observed, it did not appear that she was committed to MI issues. (For the record, I am only 14 mos. on MI.) <BR/><BR/>For me, Mike was just too slick, and "swarmy." (Is that a word?) I objected to his position on our "right" to SOV lanes and his emphasis on that in the campaign. Don't get me wrong, I love the SOV in the HOV (on the once or twice a week when I drive downtown).I would have liked to have heard about what Mike was going to do about getting people out of their cars, particularly on MI, where it is difficult to get from the south end to the downtown core without driving. To his credit he was out in the community and his issues and appeal were "grass roots." He was at every city council meeting, and definitely got his name and face out. <BR/>I agree with the previous poster that his contributors and supporters were the Republican elite of MI, for which there is no shortage. He also ran a negative campaign. Hopefully, the next time the Democrats can put up a candidate with real bipartisan appeal who can run a "smarter" campaign.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203221.post-18745263952656152082007-11-19T10:18:00.000-08:002007-11-19T10:18:00.000-08:00Ah, some long awaited honesty.1. You admit to bei...Ah, some long awaited honesty.<BR/><BR/>1. You admit to being a Cero supporter...finally. That's why the data you find "overblown" is the data that shows he's a total republican -- from donor base through positions. <BR/><BR/>2. You also admit it's not about who has the best positions...who is the best qualified. It's who responded to YOU. It's all about YOU. <BR/><BR/>Too bad you didn't state these things up front..instead, pretending to be an objective presenter of data. Rather, when these things were pointed out, you pretended you remained objective. <BR/><BR/>I guess now that the results are final, you can come clean.<BR/><BR/>In the future, it would be a lot better for you to list your allegiances up front and not pretend to be objective.<BR/><BR/>PS...given your obvious importance to the election, it seems that Cero owes you this close victory. Hope he shows his thanks to your satisfaction. You are the kingmaker of Mercer Island politics.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203221.post-24537280039566414652007-11-18T08:49:00.000-08:002007-11-18T08:49:00.000-08:00Thanks for the comment, and sorry about the self-s...Thanks for the comment, and sorry about the self-serving part -- my intent was just to give some data about the real level of impact of a little blog like mine, and to suggest what might happen if somebody seriously tried to influence an election this way.<BR/><BR/>Who says I shouldn't be biased? Of course I am and yes, I voted for Mike. But I wasn't biased at the beginning. I looked up the PDC stuff (including <A HREF="http://blog.richardsprague.com/2007/10/mercer-islanders-for-mike-cero.html" REL="nofollow">the Republican issue</A> you mention and which I concluded was overblown) and studied the issues all by myself, becoming more pro-Mike the more I learned. I changed my mind about Litzow after he contacted me, but Maureen (unlike every other candidate) made zero attempts to reach me: didn't email me, didn't visit my house. Unlike those "daily attack emails" (which by the way I never received --I didn't know about them), my blog is completely public and open, and she would have been more than welcome.<BR/><BR/>I can only conclude she didn't care about my vote--so she didn't get it, and I bet a lot of other voters felt just as snubbed. That's the REAL lesson for a local campaign.Richard Spraguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03470273961021829567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203221.post-92035652834582277632007-11-18T06:36:00.000-08:002007-11-18T06:36:00.000-08:00Pretty good analysis (though a little self serving...Pretty good analysis (though a little self serving), but among other errors, one amazingly erroneous statement that had been corrected a number of times to you via blog comments AND one very noticeable difference in the campaigns:<BR/><BR/>1. You state that Mike "befriended the grassroots, not the elites." Most of the biggest contributors, and many of the other contributors are the elite of the republican party. How that escaped your analysis is, well, understandable given your clear preference for Mike (and biased postings) from day 1. <BR/><BR/>2. Mike was the only city council member to run a negative campaign. It's true that negative campaigning is all too familiar here in our regional, state and national elections. Mike was the one and only to begin the general election attacking his opponent to deflect the campaign to one that he defined as negative issues. The attacks continued, the negativity was broadened beyond Mike to many of his supporters who sent emails around (almost daily) attacking Maureen.<BR/><BR/>Maureen finally responded (after being attacked more than a dozen times) at the very end. Even the best, most positive people can only take so much for so long. <BR/><BR/>The sad part is what Mike's victory might cause others to do in future local races. <BR/><BR/>How sad. How very very sad. How about a post on that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com