Monday, September 10, 2007

I Voted Early!


It's primary season across the state of Utah, and in Salt Lake City, there are two races that have my attention. Mayor and City Council District 4. Districts 2 and 6 are also open, but they're not my concern.

I've already discussed the hard time I've had choosing who'll get my vote this year… and now, well, now I've pulled the lever.

For mayor, Ralph Becker has my vote. He's a little more progressive than I am, but he's even-headed and will do (I pray) a fine job. In the end, I just couldn't get over Keith Christensen's money trail or a smattering of other issues. Buehler and Wilson never had my votes — one's too conservative and the other doesn't have the depth of experience nor the grasp of the issues needed for a mayor.

For City Council, I voted for Brian Doughty. I haven't decided whether I want him as my final vote — but I definitely want him in to stay in the running while I make up my mind. It's a hard race, really. Councilwoman Saxton lost my vote a while ago when it was made apparent that we have differing opinions on several key issues. Which leaves me with Garrott and Doughty. Luke Garrott has the chops, for certain, but he's got a rep for being caustic — and that won't fly on the council. Brian Doughty doesn't have the policy experience I'd prefer, but he's got the personal skills you just can't pick-up on the job.

So there you go.

To find out where you should be voting tomorrow, check the Salt Lake City Votes site. For other municipalities, you'll need to check with your County Clerk (PDF, sorry).

And here's a how-to site for using the state's electronic balloting machines.

UPDATE: You probably already know this, but for mayor, Becker and Buehler have moved on to the general elections... and in the 4th district, Saxton and Garrott have advanced. I'm happy to see — at least among primary voters — overwhelming support for Becker... Bewildered that Nancy did as well as she did… Sad that Brian didn't advance. He had a strong showing, though, for having no name recognition. That's little consolation, though.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry you feel that way about Luke Garrott, but I would encourage you to not judge him just on his rep. Come to one of our house parties after the primary and get to know Luke yourself; I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Stenar said...

HURRAH! I'm glad you voted for Becker! ;)

Silus Grok said...

I'm happy with my choice in the Becker campaign... I just hope he warms-up a bit after the primaries. He's really underwhelming in the "friendly" category.

Sam: I've known Luke for years... and he's great in safe groups, but when he's uncomfortable he can be downright combative.

Silus Grok said...

... and reputations are 9/10ths of reality in politics.

But I still haven't made-up my mind on the Luke front.