I wish I could say that I’m excited about the race to fill Steve Wolfson’s former City Council seat, but I’m not.  Not because I have particular issues with any of the nine candidates—some are far better than others though—but because I’ve never seen our City Council as particularly effective or independent of the mayor’s office.

<-Rubber stamp bodies do little to energize me!

It’s interesting that only 7 people wanted to replace former DA David Roger but 9 wish to replace Wolfson and that speaks to the individual candidates who perceive the council being much more powerful than the District Attorney at less than half the DA’s salary.

<-I rode Wolfson–seen here on his Wedding Day–a lot, but he was my council rep for a number of years and overall he was pretty good all things considered—he was accessible and responsive and voters out here liked him.  He also played the political game perfectly donating to people from both parties—almost always $250, as I recall—and that was very smart of him. 

Everyone hates his now former judge wife, but no one held her against him.

Former State Senator Bob Beers is the most experienced person and is clearly the best choice of all nine for Ward 2 voters.  His name recognition alone could win it for him in a few weeks because there’s not a whole lot of empirical evidence that anyone is paying much attention to this special election—including the candidates!!!

Turnout will be predictably and appallingly very low and name recognition is what all of his competitors fear most about Beers.  Unions and bureaucrats fear him too and are working against him but have reconciled themselves to the very real possibility that he could win.  I told Beers that the Firefighters are so desperate for friends that they’re chatting up homeless guys trying to find some buddies.  The Firefighter brand is poison in the county with voters and all FDs will continue as an issue including in CD03 where the City of North Las Vegas outright lied about John Oceguera’s lying and cheating cover-ups which an outside auditor would have found in a single afternoon of record reviewing.

<-The firefighting stars of the Academy Award winning gay porno ‘My Hose is Bigger than your Hose’ endorsed Bob Beers in a surprise annoucement!

A conservative firebrand, Bob Beers has the affections of his party and is really quite entertaining and knowledgeable and fun to talk to; even leftie media types like him because he always gives ‘great interview’.

I can’t imagine Bob Beers just sitting there like a lump going along to get along on the Las Vegas City Council and that’s why I’m supporting his efforts.

Ric Truesdell and Anthony Ruggiero are the city insiders who thought that they had things all sewed up before Bob Beers jumped in.  Ruggiero is hirsute Stavros Anthony’s personal ass-wiper and is one of the densest and blank-minded persons in the entire city bureaucracy that matches Stavros perfectly as birds of a feather and as co-equal lightweights. Anthony Ruggiero isn’t a bad guy; he’s just a simpleton unworthy of elective office.

Ric Truesdell’s Planning Commission connections would have normally meant that he breezed right into the seat but he can expect no more than a second place finish if his powerbrokers can even deliver that to him with so many people in the race; see Steve Evans’ over-confidence as what may happen to Truesdell.

Generally, the more the merrier doesn’t apply to political races—especially winner-takes-all special elections, and once an iconic brand like Beers jumped in, lesser people should have jumped out and those lesser persons harm Truesdell the most.

<-Bruce Gale and Rhoda Morgenstern tie the knot!

Don’t be surprised to see Bruce Gale do well either; the perennial candidate is an idiot but places himself on the ballot for every cycle and a clueless electorate may give him enough votes to further enable if not embolden him to run for POTUS someday too!  A gadfly and ne’er-do-well attorney, Gale represents everything that’s wrong with our disinterested electorate and the people who keep casting their votes for guys like him.

Fayyaz Raja?  Gesundheit!  Nuff said on this guy who shops at my Walgreens, Albertsons, Home Depot and who doesn’t have a chance.

Nevada’s love affair with women in public office has been diluted by the very women running for this seat; Sherese Holmes, Roberta Boyles, and Kristine Kuzemka.  With so many people running, each has effectively canceled all three out and none have a snowball’s chance and none have any traction at all.

<-Kuzemka ran a spirited race against Bill Kephart for a judicial seat in 2010, but her inattention to detail and completely blowing my sister off for a silent auction motorcycle ride she won gives credence to the many in her office who called her ‘completely disinterested in details and minutia’ in 2010.

Details matter in political races and handwritten thank-you notes and personal phone calls etc… are amongst the little things that really matter and help build ones brand.

That said, I like Kristine Kuzemka but this is the wrong office at the wrong time for her and it was ill-advised of her to jump into it.  That she continues to position herself as the ‘gay’ candidate rather than the candidate who happens to be gay, restricts and constricts her potential for wider appeal and firing at the mayor to get press attention was politically unnecessary and she may have damaged herself picking a fight she will eventually win but not by firing at the wrong person at the wrong time.

Hearts and minds must be won first and cornered and threatened politicians are dangerous beings on any social/single issues of the day.

<-The star of Retarded Policeman is  HUGE Bob Chinn fan and supporter!

If you haven’t seen this DVD or the YouTubes,  Google ‘em and enjoy!!!

Former Metro Captain Bob Chinn is too encumbered to be elected to any office and even friends of his expressed surprise that he would enter the political arena when his very many detractors are so hate-filled and he had personally given them so much ammunition over the course of his entire career at Metro.

His enemies list is too long to mention though he also has supporters inside the Department too.  Bob Chinn’s corruption regarding former Lts Paul Page and Sean Donnelly alone is enough to disqualify him from ever holding a position of the publics’ trust ever again.

He was demoted as a Deputy Chief for God’s sake!

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2007/jun/22/metro-tightens-net-in-overtime-probe/

<-  Stavros and Mrs Anthony are seen here enjoying a tender and hairy moment together before a recent City Council meeting!

I wasn’t aware of any particular acrimony between former Metro Captains Stavros Anthony and Bob Chinn, but their respective supporters aren’t especially fond of each other it appears and it strains credulity that Stavros would want to share the City Council chambers with another Metro person given the cushy little niche he’s carved out for himself in such a short time there.

Said a person who really digs Stavros Anthony, ‘we’d rather lose Ruggiero than have Chinn win’. 

<-In any event, the only person of the nine who stands a chance of shaking up the moribund City Council is Bob Beers and the other eight haven’t effectively told us why we should vote for them either!

If there were any indication that Ward 2 voters cared one way or another who wins, then I’d care too. 

There is no such indication today and that’s our civically disinterested reality in Las Vegas. 

.

 

Michael Zahara

3/4/2012

www.WatchdogWag.com