Elections Ho!

by John Weckerle

With various local elections in the region just a few days away, and the last of the newspapers to be published before the voting now on the racks, we remind candidates that they are welcome to have their last say here.

The Edgewood race seems to have dominated the letters to the local newspapers.  With that in mind, and without specifically endorsing any candidate in any election, we have a thing or two to say about some of what we’ve seen in the papers thus far.

In a February 25 letter to the editor of the Mountain View Telegraph, local resident Sue West takes issue with Edgewood Mayor Bob Stearley’s endorsement of incumbent candidate Glenn Felton.  We wholly agree with Ms. West’s criticism: Leaving the content of Mr. Stearley’s letter for others to debate, Mr. Stearley should not have used his title to endorse any candidate in this or any other election.  The title is essentially for official use only, and using it to endorse a candidate means that Mr. Stearley is doing so in an official capacity, as a representative of the Town of Edgewood.  This is improper, and we suggest that Mr. Stearley refrain from such actions in the future. We also believe that the Edgewood Code of Conduct should be expanded to prohibit such transgressions.

Charges of misrepresentation and misbehavior abound on both sides, and we will leave those to the candidates and their supporters to sort out.  However, there is one issue that we believe should be addressed, and that issue arises from letters by Bob Steiner to both The Independent and the Mountain View Telegraph.  In his letters, Mr. Steiner asserts that candidate Chuck Ring and incumbent Rita Loy Simmons are superior candidates because they are retired.  We utterly reject that argument.  In our opinion, candidates should be judged on performance, service, and their positions on issues important to the voters.  We hold retirement/employment status to be essentially irrelevant, as long as such status does not prevent elected officials from discharging their duties.  We will also note that Mr. Ring was employed full-time in Albuquerque during part of his prior service as a Town Councilor, and we have yet to hear any suggestion that his performance suffered as a result.  On this particular subject, we assume (and hope) that Mr. Steiner was writing as an individual, rather than an associate of either of the candidates he is supporting.

One Response “Elections Ho!”

  1. I’m about to reissue/repost a reminder about your (our) generous offer(s), plus an invitation to Mountainair candidates and voters to post statements and questions to the Mountainair 2010 Town Election Wall at http://wallwisher.com/wall/Mountainair-Election

    I missed our local candidate meet and greet sponsored by the Volunteer Fire Department but heard good reviews. The more relaxed, informal setting and organization was a hit and encouraged a congenial atmosphere. Off course, there have been the inevitable spots of conflict characterized by an absence of civil discourse. This was not one of them.

Let us talk about
Name and Mail are required
Join the discuss

I'm not a robot (enter numbers) *