Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Some Thoughts One Week Out

Some things on my mind one week prior to the November 2 City Council election:

Will Toni Hedrick manage to get the 38% that Bob O'Connor did against Jim Wood in May, 2006?

How much blowback does Dave Redmond face from the voters over the genie ad and website? Does it gain him more votes than it costs?

Does The Virginian-Pravda endorsement of Barbara Henley have a noteworthy impact in the Princess Anne District contest, which has been looking fairly close?

On one level, I'd love to attend the Victoryless Party of the extremist Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance (VBTA) on election night. The sadist in me would love to watch the Kool-Aid chuggers' reaction to the incoming election results.

Should Bill DeSteph lose (as expected and hoped), how does that change the City Council Retreat in January? That would both eliminate his junk agenda items (which other Councilmen don't care about) and his comments on the other items.

If the Sessoms/Virginian-Pravda slate wins on November 2, does that put a Redevelopment & Housing Authority back on the burner? It was in the applicant questionnaire for filling the Villanueva vacancy. We'll know by the time the Council Retreat is over.

Should Tanya Bullock and Andrew Jackson both lose, how does that change the context of next year's City Redistricting process? Does it strengthen the legal argument against Virginia Beach's at-large voting system?

Should Wally Erb tank badly (as expected), does that kill the "issue" of a light rail referendum?

I anxiously await George Furman's vote total, as that will tell us how many people will vote for any warm body over a City Council incumbent. It will be fun comparing Hedrick's numbers to Furman's.

What conspiracy theory will Reid Greenmun push about the annihilation of his VBTA Council candidates?

As political consultant/fellow blogger Brian Kirwin has said, will Wally Erb grasp that "No Means No" applies to the voters rejecting his repeated candidacies? Erb has lost for state Senate (1995), City Council (2000), Clerk of the Circuit Court (2003), and is now running for Council again. The same applies for John Moss: Council At-Large (2004), Mayor (2008), and now Council At-Large again.

What will Robert Dean do to try to rally the remnants of the VBTA afterwards? In 2008 he had two pieces on Virginia News Source (VNS) in one week, but is no longer with VNS. Then, will the VBTA even be salvageable?

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