A while back I asked the Committee to Elect Richard D'Amour to the Vanderburgh County Superior Court for its financial disclosure statements regarding the financing of Magistrate D'Amour's election and its expenses. I received no reply. D'Amour appears to be the prominent contender. I'm told that his signs are all over the city of Evansville while the other three running for the position are few and far between and hardly visible at all. In fact, the other candidate names are hardly known. This New York Times letter to the editor brings to mind that I should write about this.
From my experience, we know less about local political candidates than we know about candidates for Congress or President. Usually, all we know about a local candidate is what we read in a one or two paragraph bio in the voting guide. And, we know nothing about who is financing local candidates. Even if we knew that this or that Political Action Committee (PAC) is financing a candidate, we still wouldn't know who, specifically, is financing the PAC. It's all hidden and it appears to be designed to hide the details. Nice and convenient for special interests; all special interests.
I suspect that most voters vote for local candidates like I do; pick the name that we know the best and ignore the others. In the case of D'Amour, and had I not made an effort to look into his financial backing, I would probably have voted for him because his name is well known and on a sign in every front yard. Maybe that's a bad idea. Maybe the name that is in my face, that I see on signs all over the place, is NOT the name I should vote for. Perhaps I should vote for the candidate that has no money and wasn't able to put a sign in everyone's front yard. After all, the candidate who hasn't been bought owes nobody any favors.
So, there you go. Until you know who is buying Richard's election, and can determine he isn't a bought and paid for judge, vote for the other guy, whoever that may be. What's the difference? It's a coin flip anyway.
Oh, and by the way, vote NO on every damn voter approved proposition. They are all special interest and they complicate governing like no other concocted idea. Voters know nothing about governing a state and county. That's what we elect governors, state legislatures and county councils to do. Want proof? Just look at California. It's a mess.
Another by the way: VOTE!
Dave
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