Well, round one of the Maplewood city elections are done and the result appears to be 7 weeks of acrimony and vitriol. While there were a few candidates who seemed to be neutral parties to the ongoing council wars, none of them survived the first round.
For City Council:
We have 2 council candidates whose politics I don't exactly line up with and 2 council members whose political maturity I seriously question. Right now, I am leaning strongly towards voting for Kathleen Juenemann and James Llanas. While they are more willing to tax and spend than I am usually comfortable with, they are also articulate, reasoned and willing to listen to opposing viewpoints. Rebecca Cave and Dave Hafner appear to focus more on attacking the opponent than defending a reasoned policy or proposal. With Kathleen Juenemann and James Llanas placing first and second in the primary, it appears to be their race to lose in November. Unfortunately, I fear their perceived lead will only generate more attack ads and slander from Rebecca Cave and Dave Hafner.
Note: I said that I was "leaning strongly". I did not say that I had made a firm decision. If Rebecca Cave or Dave Hafner run professional, issues-based, campaigns and abandon personal attacks, I could be swayed to vote for one or both of them. Likewise, some of the Kathleen Juenemann and James Llanas joint campaign collateral was thinly veiled attack ads themselves. If either of them lowers their campaign standards much further, they too could influence a shift in my vote.
For Mayor:
Where the Council race has strong potential for controversy, the Mayor's race is guaranteed to be ugly and embarrassing for all involved. This means that I am now forced to make a choice between two exceptionally qualified and flawed candidates for Mayor.
Mayor Diana Longrie:
Before I attended my first Maplewood City Council meeting, I envisioned Mayor Longrie to be petty and amateurish. This perspective was based on media reports of Council dysfunction and her own writing in the Maplewood Monthly. After attending many city council meetings, I actually find her to be intelligent and diligent in her duties as Mayor. She is also a pro at "working a room". She tries to introduce herself to everyone in the council chambers and tries hard to make everyone feel welcome. With all of these skills, I am still disappointed that she and her supporters spend so much effort on tearing down their opponents instead of trying to sell their vision to the citizens.
Council Member Will Rossbach:
My first impression of Mr. Rossbach was an intelligent and concerned council member. We spoke at several forums that he held in Maplewood's "south leg". We didn't always agree on issues, but he listened and defended his view without attacking mine. I was also impressed with his ability to stay out of the political mudslinging that took place in several Council Member's columns in the Maplewood Monthly. He focused on topics that concerned citizens daily lives, not the political acrimony at City Hall. My attendance at City Council meetings also shed new light on Council Member Rossbach's behavior in the council chambers. I soon found Mr. Rossbach to be a bit thin skinned and quick to point out when he feels slighted by another member of the council. Now, I'm not justifying Mr. Rossbach's behavior in the chambers, but there is at least one council member and a number of citizens who seem to have made it their life's mission to make Mr. Rossbach's life a living hell. Unfortunately, it appears to be working. I think that Council Member Rossbach has been slowly dragged into the political mud by the incessant attacks he is subjected to.
With that, I can not support either candidate for Mayor at this time. I am going to wait and see which Mayoral candidate focuses on what is the right vision for Maplewood, not what is wrong with the other candidate. There is no question that Mayor Longrie has been more aggressive in her attacks on Council Member Rossbach than he has been towards her. Yet Mr. Rossbach's veiled attack ads and council chamber acrimony still exceed my comfort level. I am also worried about the direction the city will take if the entire City Council is comprised of just one political vision. I would prefer reasoned debate and discussion of multiple visions over a 4 to 0 majority. Unfortunately I don't believe the players left on the field are capable of reasoned debate or discussion with members of the "other team". Please prove me wrong or I'm thinking that my decision for Mayor may take until November.
