Anyone who thought it’s time to slack off after the big election hasn’t looked at the calendar lately. Just around the corner — in March, 2009 — are the Chattanooga city elections. The mayor’s office and city council posts are all up for grabs, and the campaigns are just starting to swing into gear.
Now, those of you who were counting on Tennessee Ticket’s Joe Lance to keep you informed about all the races were probably disappointed to learn that you’ll have to find another source for Joe’s special brand of local political coverage. But you also might have been thrilled to learn that he’s backing away from his blog because he’s making his own run for the mayor’s office.
Last night, Joe had his campaign kickoff, and I swung by and took a few photos while enjoying the crowd. The turnout was good, the people were engaged and lively, and Joe made a few remarks about his goals for government, prominently featuring the ideal of citizen participation. Hopefully he will be able to mount a vigorous campaign, and give Ron Littlefield a run for his money!
Well, Ron Littlefield finally has legal opposition! Go Joe!
I’m not a morning person. But I got up before the sun today and went to the Hamilton County Election Commission for the start of early voting. When I first got there at around 7am, it was still mostly dark out (the almost-full moon was still bright in the sky), and Camp Obama was set up right next to the building, illuminated by the portable lights from a local news station:
But as the sun rose, the camp was moved to respect the 100-foot campaign-free zone that must be kept around each polling place in Tennessee. There were a lot of cameras and microphones there to cover the event. We held signs and rallied right up until voting began at eight o’clock. And then I was one of the first people in the county to cast a ballot for Barack Obama! And so it begins…
UPDATE: here’s a bit of coverage.
Yeah, me too, and I’m not even in a swing state, so my TV isn’t spewing campaign commercials throughout every single break (though I am happy to report that I have seen a few!). I’m looking forward to having a more well-rounded life in November — watching something besides the news, having the news be about something besides presidential politics (remember when they used to obsess over the weather, cute animals and missing white women?), and so on.
It is almost over, though. Election Day is three weeks from today and here in Tennessee, at least, early voting starts tomorrow. The kids will be camping out over at the election commission tonight. Why? Because this is big. Really big. So big that camping is required — big concert? big video game release? big movie premiere? Campout, campout, campout! It’s not a big event if you don’t have to camp out, and this one? Well, it’s huge. Electing Barack Obama is going to be historic in so many ways, especially if the young people turn out in the numbers they’ve been promising us all year.
There will also be an early voting rally in the morning — even those who didn’t camp out will be gathering at 7:30, to go en masse, into the election commission to cast those first ballots for Obama when voting starts at 8am. I hope to see you there!
Here’s a bit of good local news: just as the announcement of an opening on the council comes in, we also get word that a dedicated community servant will be running for the seat! Go, Pam!
Chattanooga School Board member Debra Matthews died at a local hospital this morning, just weeks after winning reelection to her District 4 seat, fighting off a challenge from Gregg Juster.
- Have the Republicans become the party of instant satisfaction and gratification? This illustration offers some numbers in support of the suggestion:
- Do you have any idea why McCain won’t comment on matters of marital infidelity? It’s not like him to give up a chance to be high and mighty…
- A lot of locals have been excited to discover that Google Street View has come to Chattanooga, and they are pouring over the maps to find all the easter eggs caught in the images. But will they find anything as quite as spooky as a house on fire?
- Tennessee’s progressive blogosphere Sunday roundup.
- Quote of the week, from Ian McKellan, regarding an (yet another) intolerant religious leader: “From the pulpit, homophobia is preached by some arrogant religious leaders who think their beliefs are superior to our inborn and, some would say, God-given nature.” Ha!
- Here’s a puzzler:
So John McCain apparently lifted huge portions of his statement on the unfolding crisis in Georgia from Wikipedia. Here’s a 3 AM question for you: do you want a President with a real strategy for containing such a crisis, or do you want someone who’s stumbling over wikipedia entries after getting internet lessons from his wife? I guess when it comes to McCain and foreign policy, it’s a google!
I don’t think he’s up for the job, but we’ll see. (UPDATE: more here and here!) - Mind-boggling quote of the day, from George W. Bush on Russia’s activities in Georgia: “Russia has invaded a sovereign neighbouring state…. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century…. We have no doubts about it. This is a deliberate attempt to destroy an entire country and change the regime.” I am speechless. (UPDATE: more here!)
- Will a Southern community serve as a nuclear waste dump?
You’re not going to believe this one.
Last Thursday-into-Friday night, our two bikes (one for me, one for DH), were stolen out of our yard while we slept. I blame a combination of our stupidity and a false sense of security created by the fact that our back yard is surrounded by a 6-foot privacy fence. But we really should have kept the bikes locked up, since anyone watching us coming and going through the driveway gate would have a full view of the fact that we didn’t keep our bikes locked. So, lesson learned there.
This evening was National Night Out. If you’ve ever been to one, you know it’s an event were neighbors get together, in the neighborhoods, with local police and fire fighters and mingle for an evening of camaraderie, improved familiarity, and better relations. Also if you’ve ever been to a National Night Out, you probably realize that it’s the last place you’d want to be with a bike that had been stolen from one of the neighbors who was standing right there, chatting with some cops. But sometimes crazy things do happen, and … well, I now have my bike back. No word yet on DH’s bike…
I have to admit, I don’t get this story. Does anyone have more info? Promoting a local event — especially when you’re Jed Mescon (so promoting local events is what you do) — doesn’t seem like something you get suspended over. There must be more there than the Chattanoogan is reporting…
