Every time I look around and see the discussions going on in the Almanac, I grow more confused, and develop a headache.
See, with my son away in college, I can't cheat in the coming election. He is very smart, cool headed, and a great believer in the common good. By now he would have studied measures and candidates so well, that I could just pick his brains and make an informed decision on how to vote.
He is not beholden to any special interests, nor has he gotten money from developers and big property owners. And, he thinks that one can't go wrong by voting for what the Sierra Club endorses (hint: the Sierra Club endorses Measure M).
But I am a simple, unsophisticated guy. Instead of poring over pages and pages of legalese text that I will not understand, I look for more practical signs to help guide my votes.
On Measure M, for example, I have gotten so many pieces of campaign literature paid for by big money, that even if the measure is, as they say, full of errors, at least it is the product of a citizens initiave. Something very rare and precious in our sad politcal environment.
Besides, why would I think that developers, and those who profit along them, would care for those like me, who own nothing but their time and skills to earn a living?
Have you checked those campaign finance reports? It's mostly big money investing on defeating a Measure that would get in their way of making more money. Regardless of how their projects affect the lives and commutes of residents.
And speaking of campaign finance reports.
If you look closely, you will notice that the rich individuals and interest groups giving a lot of money to defeat Measure M, are the same ones who have been donating big to the 3 incumbents: Rich Cline, Kirsten Keith and Peter Ohtaki.
It is a great strategy. Big money funds the opposition to Measure M. From there, it funds the 3 incumbents who are dedicated sposkespeople against the Measure. This way, developers and big property owners get to kill 2 birds with the same one stone. If the incumbents win, their investement will have been more than worthwhile, and pay them dividends for years to come.
You too, fellow resident, can kill two birds with one stone. Just follow the money in this election, and save yourself the time and trouble of trying to decipher the misinformation going around.
