POLITICAL PLAY of the WEEK: Hotchkiss Chutzpah

Like the Political Play of the Week, Chutzpah can be either good or bad, as long at it has an effect.

I was looking to grill up some homegrown red meat for the Play this week, especially if political corpse Jim Anderson indeed made some announcement or gave any hint that he would be running for Third District Supervisor in the Republican vacuum left after Firestone announced eight days ago that he was not seeking a second term. That teaser about Anderson initially was a comment last week at Blogabarbara, but nothing has been reported, anonymous or not, since then. Maybe Jimbo in Lompoc finally realized he actually resides in the Fourth District?

With no red tri-tip beef roasting on the endangered-Valley-Oak-fired, Santa-Maria-style barbecue pit this week, the Political Play this week has to be a lighter fair of Hotchkiss Chutzpah cream puffs.

First-time City Council candidate Frank Hotchkiss (remember him?) dissed a local second-tier political blog by refusing to provide an unrestricted statement to be posted at the invitation of the anonymous blog host. The Bluetooth-implanted Hotchkiss politely wrote that he wanted to spare the readers and Santa Barbara City voters the trouble of knowing and thinking about his views may be for Santa Barbara.

"Too often, political positions are the subject of misinterpretation, misunderstanding and endless bickering. I would rather spare us all of that," Hotchkiss wrote to that second-tier blog.

Real estate profiteer Hotchkiss apparently has nothing to write right now, but promised that he would have something to say during an upcoming candidate forum, without indicating when or where. As of blog time for this posting, only four comments have been entered about Bashful Frank, perhaps as much of a telltale sign as any about public interest in his candidacy and/or in that particular second-tier blog.

I suppose Bashful Frank will not be wearing out too many shoes walking from home to home meeting and greeting with voters in the Golden Triangle precincts. At least Michelle Giddens has a few lawn signs (paid for by Lanny Ebenstein and Jerry the Beaver) for her and her five friends who never met a Mesa McMansion they didn't like.

Upcoming sixth-place vote recipient Frank Hotchkiss insults the voters, fails to take advantage of free publicity (such as it is), and then instead reserves his 10 --and perhaps only-- minutes of fame for the candidates forum by League of Women Voters on October 11.

And THAT is the Political Play of the Week!!!