(posted after the election) April 4, 2024
Well, the votes are counted! In the city council election, the three current aldermen who had “concerned” opponents set up to run against them, will each return to the council floor for another two-year term. The voters saw through the smoke and mirrors and voted to retain responsible representation!
Gone are the days when Joe (or Joleen) Schmitt has a light go on in their head, and a voice cries out in their head, “you have to run for office!” Nowadays, however, the it’s obvious a concerned group who recruited the new-found opposition on the city council also recruited opposition for sitting school board members. Not a crime. And by gosh it worked! Two of the three opponents the concerned group presented for consideration were elected to the school board (beating out at least the two individuals that the concerned group had initially targeted). Victory? Whatever!?! Now, we have to wait and see if the two members can actually get something done – after all the rhetoric of the last few months.
And I haven’t even touched on the concerns many people have for adherence (or lack of) to the campaign finance laws especially in regard to the required disclaimers: or exceeding the spending limits, particularly in the school board election. It is very difficult to sit quietly and not question the cost of the recent local school board campaigns backed theoretically, socially and financially by a group of concerned citizens. From the outside looking in, merely as an observer, this election went beyond reality as far as spending! I know what a yard sign cost! I know what it cost to target-mail things! When it adds up, there was much more money than one might expect a single individual to commit to, much less be willing to spend. I assume it’s all on the up-and-up. If there is a basis for concern, it’s one for the State Elections Board to review. It would be a shame if one person spent all that money and does not report it.
–END UPDATE–