Runoff showdown
We're just a few weeks away from the runoff-to-end-all-runoffs with Heidi Davison and Charlie Maddox squaring off for Athens-Clarke County mayor. Blake put together a nice piece this past weekend looking at the runoff scenarios, and I agree mostly with what's said.
I do think, however, that Davison and Maddox split Tom Chasteen's supporters. Maddox pulled a lot of Republican support, thus forcing Chasteen to look left. Considering that Chasteen backed Davison on more than 80 percent of the issues, logic would dictate that she could do a good job in peeling off some of those voters. Of course, logic and voter behavior doesn't exactly go hand-in-hand.
What's really odd to me is that Maddox said the reason Davison ran strong in predominantly African-American districts is because of an influx of white voters into those districts through gentrification. That very well be true, but that's not what struck me as odd about his comment.
What's odd about that is that it seems Maddox is implying that African-Americans shouldn't vote for Davison and should instead vote for him, presumably because he looks like them. It's that this implication merely discounts the fact that perhaps, just perhaps, Davison has worked hard to reach out to the African-American community and those folks who voted for her did so because, well, they liked what she stood for and what she had done for the community.
Granted, I'm probably reading too much into this. Maddox seems to be a good guy, but this is troubling to me, particularly coming from a candidate who claims everyone is with him ... everyone except, apparently, white voters who move into predominantly black districts.
I do think, however, that Davison and Maddox split Tom Chasteen's supporters. Maddox pulled a lot of Republican support, thus forcing Chasteen to look left. Considering that Chasteen backed Davison on more than 80 percent of the issues, logic would dictate that she could do a good job in peeling off some of those voters. Of course, logic and voter behavior doesn't exactly go hand-in-hand.
What's really odd to me is that Maddox said the reason Davison ran strong in predominantly African-American districts is because of an influx of white voters into those districts through gentrification. That very well be true, but that's not what struck me as odd about his comment.
What's odd about that is that it seems Maddox is implying that African-Americans shouldn't vote for Davison and should instead vote for him, presumably because he looks like them. It's that this implication merely discounts the fact that perhaps, just perhaps, Davison has worked hard to reach out to the African-American community and those folks who voted for her did so because, well, they liked what she stood for and what she had done for the community.
Granted, I'm probably reading too much into this. Maddox seems to be a good guy, but this is troubling to me, particularly coming from a candidate who claims everyone is with him ... everyone except, apparently, white voters who move into predominantly black districts.
posted by Jmac at 6:14 PM
3 Comments:
I think you're reading a bit too much into this. Charlie's response was to the question of why Heidi showed strong numbers in particular heavily black areas. The question was loaded from the outset. He responded by saying the areas are not as predominantly black as the question assumed owing to the infill of new and refurbished housing of white people in historically black neighborhoods.
But you do raise a good point: Do poor blacks support Heidi for all the things she has done for their community? I think it is hard to really say for sure but I imagine we will find out soon enough.
Good points.
I didn't intend to raise the latter point, and I do think I was probably reading too much into it. Maddox's comment struck me as a bit odd when I read it originally, and it probably was in response to a more specific question.
It is odd, and very tactless at the least. I read it to be an indictment of white folks moving into black neighborhoods, and since I am one who has I probably took it a little personally.
I was very heartened by Mayor Davison's numbers in those districts, because I think it is a reflection of the work that many many many of us have been doing in those neighborhoods, so I probably am hyper-sensitive on the whole african american vote here too. I am quite releived that the voters there know who's stretched the transit service out, and who's administration was presiding when those neighborhoods in north Athens finally got water and fire protection. That's the kind of thing that will hopefully carry her over the top, poor folks are sick of the well intended coming around to blab platitudes, and their sophistication is a whole lot more than we tend to give them credit for. Also, PPA is playing well in those nbhds, after an initial skepticism. Everyone knows that every activist in town has been putting their best into the PPA, and I think there is some hope out there that things might really change as a result of that work.
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