The Moat Monster’s (aka Kristin Szakos) recent reelection announcement likely was the death knell for fellow Councilor and former running mate Norrishood’s (aka Dave Norris) City Council future.
Charlottesville Democrats—in the black community’s “dog house” over the 2011 breach of a longstanding patronage agreement between the two entities—previously had guaranteed a “black” seat on the currently black-less, all-Democrat City Council. The 2011 sin of racial omission must now be atoned.
With only two seats up for election, Szakos’ announcement to seek a second City Council term virtually guarantees that Norris will relinquish his councilorship, so that one of two blacks currently being courted for council (CB and WB) can be coronated in an uncontested Democrat primary.
While there remains outside chance that Norris will attempt to “Taliaferro” Szakos’ reelection efforts in a power play to retain his own position, that scenario is quite risky for the tenuous alliance of blacks and Democrats in Charlottesville as it could result in another whitewashed election. In light of recent history, the soon-to-be-established Charlottesville Human Rights Commission, and ongoing racial manipulation of Charlottesville elections by Charlottesville’s Lily-White, Democrat ruling caste, an uncontested primary with one black face and one white face is the likely (and preferred) manipulated outcome.
Will Szakos' reelection bid sink Norris' council future? What is the racial component?
This is a pathetic way of practicing politics. If the most qualified individuals come forward to earn election, then so be it. This racial aspect being hyped by media folk (Rob) should not be a factor in modern electoral machinations. Yes one can lament the composition that results, just as the recent slew of eight white hires as NFL coaches, but again it gets to the most qualified. People of color need to step up and get in the mix, especially in electoral politics. I traverse the state trying hard to recruit and are met with blank expressions or total unwillingness to participate in local civic activity – which is totally difficult to understand considering it is the locals that have more impact on how much you are taxed, how your schools are run etc. How is it that 80% will vote in presidential election and only 42% vote in the governor’s election?
This is a pathetic way of practicing politics. If the most qualified individuals come forward to earn election, then so be it. This racial aspect being hyped by media folk (Rob) should not be a factor in modern electoral machinations. Yes one can lament the composition that results, just as the recent slew of eight white hires as NFL coaches, but again it gets to the most qualified. People of color need to step up and get in the mix, especially in electoral politics. I traverse the state trying hard to recruit and are met with blank expressions or total unwillingness to participate in local civic activity – which is totally difficult to understand considering it is the locals that have more impact on how much you are taxed, how your schools are run etc. How is it that 80% will vote in presidential election and only 42% vote in the governor's election?
Rob is not only one who has brought fore this issue. It is well know on the street that the Democrat party is trying to recuit two individuals from the black community to run for city council as democrat. The problem is how much of your soul are willing to give to the democrat party. When comes to local election the voters turnout on a good day is somewhere between 15 – 25%. Allot of individuals on local level feel it is not worth it anymore to go vote. It is not just worth it.
Joe, you miss the entire point of the piece. I’m not for specific outcomes. The Dems have manipulated racial outcomes of elections for years. Please read the supporting links and then get back to me.
When Charlottesville Democrats supposedly deny African-Americans a seat on City Council, Rob clucks his tongue. When Virginia Republicans sneakily redraw district boundaries in a way that will give African-Americans across the state less representation overall, Rob is bemused.
When Obama pushes a progressive rather than bipartisan piece of legislation, Rob is outraged. When Republicans pull a nakedly partisan and undemocratic stunt, Rob is pleased. Spell it with me, Schilling Show fans: h-y-p-o-c-r-i-s-y.
Please Ken, take a look in mirror. There are h-y-p-o-c-r-i-s-y on both side of the fence. The problem is of late neither one has come up with anything new or any new solutions. We keep hearing reruns of same on things……The city democrat set their setup for by what they say and what they do. Try going out to get signature to put someone on ballot. Normal comment is that city council know best. City council got my back. City council decided only needed one individual on the ballot etc. So if city council know all, why do we have surplus, why does certain memeber of city feel the need to raise taxes for what?
area, I’m not defending the City Council, and I couldn’t agree more that there is plenty of hypocrisy on both sides of the aisle.
I see – so if a legislator “takes the day off” for an historic occasion, he is by definition not doing his job right, simple as that, and he – and also the people who elected him – deserve to be taken advantage of.
Give me a break.
Ok, Ken, please enlighten me. you really got me confused on your last post?
That was Rob’s argument on the show, that if Henry Marsh hadn’t taken “the day off,” the Republicans couldn’t have redistricted, so Marsh only got what he deserved. But even if it had been fair to take advantage of Marsh, (see the Stephen Colbert quote below), it wouldn’t have been fair to take advantage of the people who voted for him.
Colbert: “They waited until a Democratic senator and longtime civil rights leader left town on Martin Luther King Day to attend President Obama’s inauguration. In the words of Dr. King, ‘I have been to the mountaintop, and while I was there, they heavily redistricted the promised land.’”
Rob is rationalizing unethical behavior. And did you know that the Republican State Leadership Committee has boasted that they held the U.S. House by gerrymandering? House Democrats actually got over a million more votes, but Republicans held onto power because they had cleverly redrawn districts. Now Republicans want to rig the electoral college in their favor.
Both sides play dirty, hardball politics like that, but Rob only gets mad when liberals do it. When a man makes no attempt at fair judgment when the facts are known, can you trust him to tell you all the facts when you don’t already know them? When a man only tells you what you want to hear, he lacks credibility.
Ah! blind man said.
We are not the Borg!