Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail - Slugger Style

I haven't posted in days and I've been mercilessly calling Cannon to see if he will come out of his deep funk and write even just a few paragraphs to save me from those who will not get a Blogger ID. I'm even thinking of getting Yo! El Rey off his god awful perch at the Presidio -- if he'd only lay off the sangria, he might write a bit more often too.


I got a letter in the mail last week from our Mayor "The Slugger" Marty Blum asking me to give money to Grant House and Dianne Channing -- two very good candidates for council. She also said Roger Horton was a man of integrity -- which I happen to think he is -- but there wasn't an envelope in the letter for him. Besides the obvious fact that Iya Falcone was left out of her endorsement list -- the letter was interesting in that it hit while the Police Officers Association (POA) was finishing their interviews of the council candidates. Word on the street was that Grant House hit the ball out of the park -- if I were a Boston fan I'd say past the Monster, but we've used that nickname before in the same context...

So, former Air Force Officer Loretta Redd gets the POA nod even though Ulysses Grant got the Firefighters endorsement. This is unprecedented that the POA and the Firefighters split endorsements.....what happened? I would bet Monster McGrew made it be known that the POA wasn't going to endorse any newcomer that was endorsed by the Slugger -- not on my watch! The truth is that McGrew is better behind the scenes than challenging the Mayor during public comment (see above reference). It's a safe endorsement, too, because Redd is likely a good supporter as she is former military.

The connection between the letter and the endorsement may or may not hold merit -- but it is an interesting one. Her man at De la Guerra, Travis Armstrong, mentioned the letter in his column this week calling it "another oddball fundraising letter". Councilmember Falcone called it "unprecedented" earlier this week and it is. Josh Molina of the News-Depress questioned today whether she can win without the POA endorsement -- saying that if she does, she will "smash" that perception.


What does all this do for Dianne? Armstrong doesn't mention Channing's name in the article, calling her a long shot -- but then pushes Terry Tyler as if he is a contender. In the very next paragraph he points out that Tyler has been on vacation -- I've got news for you, viable candidates don't go on vacation in late September because they are walking precincts. At least Channing is walking, talking and showing up at candidate forums. Dianne has a much better shot than he.

What's my bet? The Slugger will win despite the News-Press and a few questionable campaign decisions on her part. Horton, Falcone and House will win if the election were held today. This might change as we have more than a month to go....