Just a bit of clarity
I think the important thing to come away with from the whole District Eight debate debacle is that it really isn't that important at all.
Sure, it's fun political gossip, but I think the criticisms of his time management skills are a bit off, and I say that because, again, this is an insanely condensed election cycle in which the rigors of an entire campaign are lumped into a mere few weeks.
If you don't want to vote for David Hamilton, then don't vote for him. But do it based on reasons such as policy disagreement or differing ideologies, not because he couldn't make his schedule work for one particular forum. And this isn't an endorsement of the man by any means. I've noted before, but I happen to agree with Andy Herod's take on the issues a little more than Hamilton's.
Sure, it's fun political gossip, but I think the criticisms of his time management skills are a bit off, and I say that because, again, this is an insanely condensed election cycle in which the rigors of an entire campaign are lumped into a mere few weeks.
If you don't want to vote for David Hamilton, then don't vote for him. But do it based on reasons such as policy disagreement or differing ideologies, not because he couldn't make his schedule work for one particular forum. And this isn't an endorsement of the man by any means. I've noted before, but I happen to agree with Andy Herod's take on the issues a little more than Hamilton's.
posted by Jmac at 6:57 AM
3 Comments:
I must disagree, and it's not anything against David or for Andy. At the local level, these public forums are often the only way for the majority of people to really compare the candidates. Most people in the eighth district don't blog. And I just don't believe the election cycle is an excuse, we're talking about a couple of hours. (It's not as if he would be able to meet more people in the same two-hour period in any other venue.)
I agree that the primary basis for a vote should be the candidates' stands on issues, but a public forum like this is a very important way for people to find out where a candidate stands? Is this a sign of how accessible David would be to the public? Time will tell...
We all know voters can be a fickle lot, deciding which candidate to support based on anything from their hair to what bands they used to be in. Do you remember Posh Toner? I heard Hamilton used to play with them. Now that is far from an endorsement. I know of only one friend in the actual eighth and he is not going to decide on which candidate is best by something as inconsequential as fashion or musical history. He instead wants to know from friends and people whose opinion he trusts as to whether this person will better represent his views for Athens and the future of the relatively small commission district. If there was one perfect district where you could walk and talk to every voter in every house - this would be it
For the first anonymous poster, I respect that. To be clear, I'm not arguing that Hamilton's not attending the forum is a good thing. I think his attendence at the forum would be very beneficial. My point was that his lack of attendence shouldn't be the reason you don't vote for him, and that one should read too much into the whole 'accessible to the public' phase of this discussion.
To my understanding, though, Hamilton is working other avenues to get his message out (canvassing neighborhoods, speaking at folks' houses, sending out mailers, etc.), so it would be a tad misleading to say he's not working to earn their votes.
But, yes, your central point is a good one - that Hamilton's attendence at this forum would help him communicate his message and vision to a larger audience. I don't dispute that in the slightest, and though I understand why he's not going to be there, I do wish he would attend.
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