I thought for a while about whether to post this, but I think people should know that fear and homophobia are unfortunately alive and well in Orange County. In his e-mail newsletter last week Orange County Commission candidate Mike Nelson wrote:
Apparently, a representative of the Orange County Democratic Party leadership attended a recent precinct meeting and told folks that a vote for me would be a "wasted" vote. His contention, apparently, was that if I win the primary it will make it easier for the Republican candidate to win in November.
[...]
The same arguments this gentleman made---that voting for me would be handing a seat to the Republicans because of the perceived anti-gay vote in Northern Orange--these same arguments used to be made about African-American and women candidates. If people had listened to this kind of doom-and-gloom mess 20-30-40 years ago, we'd never have elected African Americans or women to office around here.
I have to say I agree with Mike, and I'm upset that someone thinks we are ignorant enough to not elect someone because he's gay. It's even more surprising that this person was foolish enough to say so to other Democrats.
After watching some of last night's PTA candidate forum, I think Mike is probably one the most experienced and articulate people in the race. Not to mention he is a talented and effective campaigner. To doubt his campaign because he is gay seems to reflect political ignorance about this community and about Mike.
Although there will always be some bigotry here, I think Orange County voters are well above this kind of political cowardice.
* FUD = fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
Issues:
Comments
A "representative of the
A "representative of the OCDP leadership" could be someone who actually represents the OCDP leadership, presumes to represent the OCDP leadership, or does not represent the OCDP leadership (translation: infiltrator).
Almost anyone who attends a precinct meeting could pass for the real thing. I choose to believe this was an isolated incident not worth pursuing by the Nelson campaign.
Paul, the link in Ruby's
Paul, the link in Ruby's initial post gives the following message:
"You cannot view or post messages because you are not currently a member. Membership is invite only."
Hmmm, I like Mike but its seems a little bit exclusive to 'invite' certain voters to get a candidate's newsletter.
Terri
Again, part of the email is
Again, part of the email is quoted by Ruby at the top of the thread (in green shaded area). In it, the person is called a "representative of the Orange County Democratic Party leadership."
I think Mike Nelson needs to clarify this, as it was apparantly not an officer of the OCDP or anyone sent to the meeting by the officers.
Why did Mike not try to contact County Chair Jack Sanders first? Perhaps he did, Jack was out of town over the holidays.
Mike, if you read this, how about some answers?
Just an observation: I
Just an observation:
I wonder how unrelated Mike Nelson's actions on the annexation really is on this thread. Ruby's initial post expresses a personal opinion of Mike Nelson's capabilities in support of her opposition to the anti-gay comments. "To doubt his campaign because he is gay" is wrong. I also believe to expect everyone to be outraged because someone thinks "Mike is probably one the most experienced and articulate people in the race" is not completely right either.
It bothered Mike enough to
It bothered Mike enough to share the incident with his supporters, and it's bothering his supporters and members of the local Democratic party as well--and understandably so on all fronts. So it is only reasonable to get to the bottom of what actually transpired and take appropriate action--whether that action is just to dismiss the person's comments as those of a private, albeit prejudiced, individual, allow the individual to clarify his comments if he thinks his comments have been unfairly reported, give someone the opportunity to admit a mistake and apologize, use it as a teaching moment, rescind someone's party membership or leadership position, or whatever.
The candidate raised the concern, so the candidate deserves some kind of resolution. So do his supporters and the leaders and members of the Orange County Democratic Party.
Earlier I posted that Jamie
Earlier I posted that Jamie Daniel had finished second in the 12 northern Orange precincts in 2004. Actually, when I added the figures again, I found I was wrong: he ran first in these precincts, at least on Election Day, with 4996 votes to Carey's 4725 and Foushee's 4680. He won 7 of the 12 precincts.
While voters in these precincts didn't vote early in the same numbers as those in the southern end (county-wide, 54% voted early), still about 40% voted earlier and that was concentrated in the 4 Hillsborough-area precincts, in which Daniel did not do as well as in the other 8 (except for Cameron Park, which he won), so it appears that all three candidates were very close to each other (early votes were not broken down by precinct, so some assumptions need to be made).
Considering that Daniel ran far behind in the county as a whole (20,705 votes compared to Carey's 39,027 and Foushee's 42,469), this is a huge difference in voting patterns in northern Orange compared to the county as a whole.
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