In the Wake following Ian Carlton

Please excuse this actual post. I'll get back to re-runs shortly.
*****

I am officially nominating Ian Carlton "Best City Council President Ever." The "Auctioneer" is fast, fair and friendly- expeditious, enlightened and engaging if you will, and there may never be another quite like him or quite as good.

Carlton is a "Yalie," while one of the candidates seeking to replace him went to Harvard. Which one, you ask? Here's a hint- Not Kurt Wright.

But while Nathan K Wright, may lack an Ivy League education- I'd have to bet on him to win this thing. For one, everybody knows the Progs tend to use every rule, loop-hole and lever available to their advantage. That's smart politics, but at the same time, the Dems are still a bit stung by Hinda's surprise loss to Bob and may not be interested in having young Mr. Ashe stack all the committees with his partisan progressive pals. With only three Republicans on the council, the Dems realize Kurt would not be able to do that. Plus, there may be a teeny bit of payback for the Dems in denying mayor Kiss a Progressive presidency even if they don't run someone for it themselves.

I may have just biased the results of the following web poll, but I hope you all realize that no internet-based poll with self-selected participants is scientific in any way. These things are just for fun and/or propaganda, FYI. I know about these things because I worked for Macro Market Research for two years in high school.

Heh heh. "Slack-ro." Everybody worked there.

Who is the Next City Council President?
	Tim Ashe
	Kurt Wright
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Politics Vermont Goes Back in Time

As of right now (Tuesday 8/15/06,11:55 pm eastern) the latest post at Politics VT is from May 5, 2006.

Weird.

A quick story about Texas

This re-run was originally published Thursday, February 23, 2006. I'm running it because I just thought of a funny nickname for Ben Cohen. "Ice Cream Cohen." Get it? I can't believe it took thirty years for someone to think of that.

*****
I lived in Austin, Texas in 1997 and 1998. While there I worked for a small, upstart ice cream company called Amy’s. My job was to make ice cream. So one day Amy and I were chatting, and noting I was from Vermont, she mentioned her dealings with Ben and Jerry’s.

You see at that time Amy had about five shops in Austin and San Antonio, but she wanted to start selling pints of ice cream in stores, too. She told me that Ben and Jerry had stopped that from happening by threatening to pull their business from all of the area companies with refrigerated trucks if they distributed for Amy.

That sounded like a vaguely familiar scenario. Where had I heard that before? Oh yeah, isn’t that what Pillsbury famously did to Ben and Jerry’s once? Remember the “What’s the Doughboy Afraid Of?” ad campaign?

She said she had spoken with each of them on the phone. According to her, Jerry was a nice guy and seemed almost apologetic about the whole thing, while Ben said something like ‘We’re big and you’re small so F you.”

This has been a quick story about Texas.

Numb Gray Surrender

I have to be honest with you people. The blogger in me has been smashed in the face by a tidal wave called "baby." I'm basically BrundleFly-and-Telepod at this point. Spent. A freakish shell of the blogger that was. I don't have a thing to say or a reason to say it.

I feel ten years older since baby "Yanna" arrived ten days ago. To make matters worse for BurlingtonPol, it's like another eleven months until there's another local election to make fun of.

Monday I'll head back to work. I haven't shaved all week and there's a shocking amount of gray in my beard. I can feel myself softening. I no longer feel the sharp resentment I used to for the city's institutions- Fletcher Allen, UVM- Even the Co-op. I'm too tired to fight. I always lose and nobody cares anyway.

I just want to raise my babies and die like every other living thing. The rest is just conversation.

So what should I do with BurlingtonPol? I think I'll just run re-runs of old posts in no particular order. I've already done Andy Kaufman, "Smashed Blog," Intermission, The Disclaimer, Killed another blog, Channeled Deep Throat, The ever-changing Tagline, Held sway in local elections and changed politics and media forever. What else would I do now but show re-runs?

The next post will be a re-run.

Welch Searches for Snarky Boy

The Shocking Truth about BurlingtonPol

I had one picture of this woman up in November, and now all my hits are coming from freaks around the world who want her classic image from Fast Times.

Blogging is stupid. Communism is good. Give up. Give up.

Daughter

This is my baby daughter "Yanna" a week ago on her birthday, March 14, 2007. She is an extremely good person, just like her brother "Koko" and her mother "Poopsie." Great job Poopsie! Yanna waves hello.

Intermission

First Visit from Armenia

Seven out of Eight Ain't Bad

Well all of my predictions came true, except of course Jane Knodell losing to Dave Rogers in Ward Two. I guess the "wake up call" I predicted Ward Two would send the Progs was hype. I'm a publisher. Sometimes I want things to be more interesting than they are. Dave Rogers ran hard, but at the end of the day Jane is still an asset, and the Progressive machine's old north end juggernaut still reigns.

A word to Tom Licata and Linda Deliduka. There isn't a "three-strikes, you're out" rule in Burlington Politics, but if there were- you'd both be out. This year Licata pulled less than 33 percent and Deliduka pulled less than 25. Learn to take a hint people.

Here's a Breakdown by vote totals and percents for the Burlington City Council races decided today. Congratulations to all the winners, especially Councilor-Elect Ed Adrian.

Ward 1 Special
Ed Adrian (D) 264 votes 47.0588235%
Dick Bove (I) votes 78 13.9037433%
Megan Munson-Warnken (P) 219 votes 39.0374332%

Ward 1
Sharon Bushor (I) 428 votes 100%

Ward 2
Jane Knodell (P) 214 votes 63.1268437%
David Rogers (I) 125 votes 36.8731563%

Ward 3
Tim Ashe (P) 345 votes 79.3103448%
Loyal Ploof (I) 90 votes 20.6896552%

Ward 4
Jim Holway (D) 514 votes 44.1580756%
Kurt Wright (R) 650 votes 55.8419244%

Ward 5
Rene Kaczka-Valliere (G) 131 16.6666667%
Joan Shannon (D) 532 votes 67.6844784%
Basil Vansuch (I) 123 votes 15.648855%

Ward 6
Tom Licata (I) 221 votes 32.3572474%
Andrew Montroll (D) 462 67.6427526%

Ward 7
Ellie Blais (I) 313 32.0696721%
Linda Deliduka (D) 239 24.4877049%
Craig Gutchell (R) 424 43.442623%

Vox Exitus

Click the Banner to go to Exit Voices. Talk about elections and town meetings there.

Happy Election Day Burlington!

Pre-Election Extravaganza!

It's BurlingtonPol's

Pre-Election Extravaganza!

Predictions! Endorsements!

Rides! Games! Prizes!

Ward One- Bushor Forever.

Let's get started with an easy "one." Sharon Bushor is a tireless public servant with a good heart. She isn't as efficient as Ian Carlton when it comes to running meetings, but then again- Ian's leaving his seat after just a few years while Sharon's been on the city council since 1945!

Ward One Special Election- Ed's Got Cred.

Dick Bove was born in Burlington somewhere around seventy years ago. Megan Munson-Warnken arrived here from the west coast in 2004. That has to be the largest spread in Burlington residency among competing city council candidates ever. Although Megan is a fine person, she simply hasn't lived in this city long enough to win my endorsement. Her residency as well as her business, an old north end cafe, are unproven Burlington commodities. Dick Bove is a great guy too, but his experience is not as representative of Ward One voters as that of Ed Adrian. Ed's a lawyer who went to UVM and VT Law School. He's got young kids and he works hard. Last year he came damn near to ending Sharon Bushor's 62 year run on the council in a nail-biter that came down to the wire. This year he's decided to take another crack at it in Ward One. Ed's got "cred." He deserves to win.

Ward Two- The Surprise

While one could make the argument Jane is "technically" more qualified, she's been on the council forever and sheltered by academia even longer than that. Plus despite his mug shot, Rogers is no slouch. Ward Two voters are about to telegraph a serious wake-up call to the Progressives. Bob Kiss will listen.


Ward Three- Ashe to win Again

Loyal thought he might be able to "destroy the Progressives" as a Republican, but Kurt Wright put a "Quick-Stop" to that plan. Sorry Loyal, you know I consider you a friend, but the truth is the city will be better served if Tim stays put in my old seat.

Ward Four- The Wright Stuff

Poopsie and I each know Kurt, independently. She used to work at Kerry's and I think I probably met him first as a guest on the channel 15 show he used to do with Matt Gardy called "Common Sense." Kurt's a hard-core New NorthEnder and pretty darned representative of his ward. He will walk to victory over Jim Holway, whom I've never heard of before.

Ward Five- Not Even Close

I don't know who Basil is, but his website indicates he's a single-issue candidate. Rene seems like a nice guy, but he needs to refine his understanding of what's practical, realistic and relevant for a city councilor. Joan Shannon is a proven community organizer who knows how to "make the trains run on time" as it were. She will crush her opponents.

Ward 6-Montroll to Roll with about Sixty Percent.

"Together, our two current city councilors have 25 years of longevity. Continuing to vote these people into office while simultaneously complaining about the financial fiasco we’re facing is what Einstein defined as insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."-Tom Licata

Tom- you just called the people you want to represent 'insane.' You lost right there.

Ward Seven- Say Goodbye to Hollywood

Words and Music by Billy Joel

Bobby's driving through the city tonight

Through the lights in a hot new rent-a-car

He joins the lovers in his heavy machine

It's a scene down on Sunset Boulevard

Say Goodbye to Hollywood

Say Goodbye to my baby...

Joan Shannon Revamps Website

Click Banner to go to Joan Shannon's revamped website.