Now, I’m not sure who’s in charge over there regarding this, and I really don’t care. I’m sure, knowing IT, the order was placed by some administrative assistant, somebody in a sad little job, always a bridesmaid, never a bride, trying as hard as possible to please those amazingly charismatic and powerful individuals who’ve been vested power over a WHOLE COUNTY.
I’m sure they popped it in there to block websites that don’t necessarily follow the party line, critical of the good old boy system, or maybe just critical of goverment and government figures in general. People who expect, however unreasonably, a county government that is transparent, benevolent, and respondent to the needs of its constituency. People who, with this expectation, have found electronic avenues to speak this belief, and, for whatever reason, trouble the brows of certain people in this government, whom this lowly, desperate, sad little administrative assistant wishes so desperately to please.
This morning I woke up with a king hell headache. My neck wasn’t sore, my sinuses weren’t raging, just one of those kick-in-the-balls headaches that comes out of nowhere, punishing you for something heinous you’ve done in a past life, or the recent nights.
I racked my brain, trying to think of how I offended God so miserably as to afford being smote while my head’s still on the pillow. I concluded that God probably isn’t pissed, so I ruled him out of my headache hit list, and let my mind wander.
It wandered out, and drifted around, and finally started settling on the election last night.
Now, I’m content with most aspects of the thing. The only candidate race that went against my predictions were Ellen Smith’s ascension onto council, but, I still like that with my liberal Naderish thinking, and I think she might do well. I would hope, based on seeing her speak a few times in the past, that she kinda ropes her long winded tendancies, but not her sensibilities. Oak Ridge hasn’t had a hippie on the council before, so really she might just be the closest thing to direct representation for my sorry ass that I’ll ever have.
Additionally, she’s an online type, keeping and carrying a blog, as well as dealing with the circus down at the Oak Ridger Forums, which is a big plus in her favor. I hope she keeps this internety accessibility into her coming job.
No, I think whats giving me a headache is the bond thing. Oak Ridge decidedly smacked down the idea that the city will ever spend public money on any kind of private enterprise, and woe be to he that try. I think we just saw ourselves relegated to a retirement community. Or worse, a job farm, where 14000 federal employees head out and head home.
Now, as with the candidate thing, I’m trying to see the silver lining in something that I didn’t hope for, but I really don’t see it here. I think we’ve neutered ourselves, stagnated any possibility of major growth on a retail side, and for what? Claims of transparency? Fear of debt?
Those are valid, but this thing appeared as transparent as any government endeavor, and folks, I don’t think debt is going anywhere in this town. I’m afraid we’re looking forward to a nice future of property tax increases, which will start spiraling upwards as the elderly in this town die, and their kids (who left Oak Ridge, naturally) rent out the property, driving land values down, driving property taxes further up, until this town is squalor bordered by a big chimney, hills, and federal installations.
Maybe thats just the headache talking.
That said, I’m betting that GBT unveils this amazing new plan for putting retail elsewhere in town without city money, on a smaller scale. Then again, Oak Ridge has roundly said that it doesn’t need retail, and with Harden Valley and Midtown growing, retails finding ways to make getting our dollars less effortlessly outside of Oak Ridge.
Heres the situation as we have it: (Numbers updated 8:44 - Probably final)
Bond Referendum:
Yes: 2917
No: 3367
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Judge race:
Robert McNees III - 4855 (OK, I’m not updating this one anymore. I think its safe to say Bob won…)
They’re not saying how many write in votes that I have, I think its a cover up…
—
City Council Throwdown:
Childress: 2215
Dubose: 806
Evans: 2308
Hayes: 3644
Hensley: 3074
Marrow: 1080
Smith: 3177
—
School Board Race
Agle: 3910
Fillauer: 4436
Wells: 2366
—
More to come once I get a drink (not that anybody’s reading this thing right now…)
7:44 PM - Inspiration Point, Oak Ridge
Coming in live from the mighty candidate free-for-all down at Inspiration Point here today, to document the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.
Or something like that.
Right now, on the big ticker, we’re seeing the results coming in, except that people that front are blocking the serious numbers, requiring me to move around, which is never the liveblogger’s best friend.
—
8:06 -
Oddly, proving that this town’s a crackerjack, we’re seeing Hayes, Hensley and Ellen Smith as the front runners by a good chunk in the candidate race. The horses haven’t all come in, but theres a hefty lead.
The referendum thing is going down. I’m going to be bleeding from the kneecaps from the bookies over that one, but hell, thats politics for you. I have tough knees.
The school board race, frankly, is going exactly as it needs to, and I doubt there’s going to be much commentary there.
Theres an interesting crowd over here right now, all milling about in various permutations facing the general direction of the big screen, where Mayor Bradshaw is talking to some BBB head about something that eludes us all, as Inspiration Point, while having wicked awesome wi-fi, is lacking the general sound situation that makes TV commentary so helpful.
Thats why I’m here, people.
I’m going to mill about, maybe steal a drink, and I’ll be back.
—
8:18 PM
One point that I noticed just underneath the massive on screen head of David Bradshaw was that the Roane County numbers haven’t come in yet. This could change everything vis a vis the referendum. We’ll just have to see. I still think that there’s going to be wailing and gnashing of teeth up at FOR headquarters tonight. Heads will roll, the sun will burn down blood red, and mighty drums will shake the earth.
—
8:26 PM
Still no word from Roane County. We had a burst of static, causing the folks here to pause and look up in wonder, while the mighty head of Bradshaw receeded into a grey powerpoint presentation, but thats about all the excitement. Numbers still progressing evenly. I think I’m sitting in somebody’s seat…
—
8:47 PM
I think its time to put this thing to bed. I managed to score what are probably the final numbers from a nice gal running around here, and I doubt we’ll see much change out of this thing tonight.
No time for reflections now, I’m afraid. No rest for the wicked.
—
9:15 PM
I enjoyed a celebratory cigar with Angi Agle, upon winning the school board race, and discussed the election results with Daco, who came in from the FOR dealy at the civic center. The mood among the FOR crowd is one of reserved, but genial acceptance. I had a nice chat with Ray Evans, who shared the accepting viewpoint, as we discussed Bonnaroo and the New Orleans Jazz Festival.
Good people.
I managed to have a couple of words with Tom Hayes and Keys Fillauer, but didn’t see Charlie Hensley here (a voice over my shoulder just told me he was here…). He may well have been around, tho. The TV has moved from the election results to what appears to be a Arizona/Tennessee baseball game, which probably is a good move.
An interesting night, and as Jacket said, the numbers tend to speak for themselves. Oak Ridge rejected, pretty roundly, the school board challenger, voted against public funds in private enterprise, and elected the city council completely counter to the main talking point, which was the bond referendum. In fact, it looks like we’ll have a Schools guy in there, an anti-establishmentarian in there, and Hensley, whom I really still haven’t figured out yet. I like his talk, of cautious but forward moving business, while his background on the planning commission helps.
Actually, this is pretty much exactly, but for the referendum, what I was talking about originally, and if Evans lost, I’m glad its to Ellen. I hope we don’t have a divisive city council, because we’ll have the possibility of having a pretty deep thinking one with this crowd.
Hell, who knows.
Things are winding down here at Inspiration Point, but the mood is still friendly. I’m certain that we’ll see rioting further in town, but that shouldn’t be a problem, I’ll just take the backroads home.
On a final note, I’d like to part with just a few thoughts:
At this point, we’ve counted votes, toasted winners, and thanked non-winners. Time to take the freaking signs down now. Every damn one. This thing needs to be put to bed, in such an amazingly big way, and woe be to he that utters a breath of elections, candidates, and bond issues for a while.
I’ve always hated that whole 18th century British thing. I mean, I had to do like 5 book reports on Dicken’s books, which ingrained in me a lifelong hatred of his works. They could be the best things in the world, and damned if I’m going to read them, because I’m just that way.
But I’m already digressing, aren’t I?
Yes, today is election eve, and in the years that I’ve been doing the ‘Tumor and keeping up with politics in this backwards little town, I’ve always gotten a special tingle deep in my chest on the day before elections.
This time tomorrow, we’re going to have no less that 2 dozen people rolling all over town, wearing embarrassing hats and colorful t-shirts, sunburned, dehydrated, trying as hard as they can to keep up through the exhausting and maddening rush of people crazed with constitutional fever. The exercise of democratic rights is not for the weak of heart or spine, and we should expect to see true grit on the camping chairs and sign popping pick up trucks of the candidates and staff tomorrow.
Yes, Oak Ridge, the stuff of heroes. Old people will weep, and babies will explode. The wicked will repent their sinful ways, and the just will rock on righteously, because tomorrow, June 5th, is voting day in Oak Ridge.
The Oak Ridger is finally getting serious about it. They dropped their recommendations, a good week or two after I did it (and then redid it), and a week or two (plus one day) since the Observer laid it down (and then re-ran it), and damned if we didn’t all come to the same conclusions.
So, the media elite of the town have all agreed, does this mean its a sure thing?
Hell, who knows. I’m still, for fun and giggles, sticking to the predictions I made in my original post:
City council: Evans, Hayes, and Hensley will win by at least a collective 80% margin.
School board: Fillauer with about 40%, Agle with about 40%, Wells with about 20%.
Judge: McNees with about 99.91%, AT with about 0.09% (woo)
Crestpointe referendum: Passes with a 65% margin.
—
We’ll all see how it goes down. Apparently there’s going to be a candidate party thing at the Flatwater tomorrow night, I’m thinking I might get rowdy and crash it to watch the winners roar in triumph, and the not-winners (because nobody’s a loser in 2007, right?) cry softly into their beer before excusing themselves. I’ll collect my money from the people fool enough to bet against my mighty predictions, and go home happy that I have the sense not to be a politician myself.
Word around the campfire is that the state has laid down the hammer on public smoking, with the house passing a bill 84-10 that would ban smoking in all public places but bars.
Now, I was on the fence about this back in March of last year, and am still kinda there now, maybe more so.
My problem is I don’t like seeing the Man telling people what they can and can’t do in their business. A private business should be just that, private. Market forces should be driving health initiatives, ideally. If Joe the diner operator wants to allow people to smoke, thats his right, but he should be aware that he’s going to lose the business of people who aren’t interested in getting smokey second hand death with their grilled cheese.
When the government steps in (and this is where I’m going to be looking all Ruby Ridge, so just bear with me) telling people what they can and can’t do, it moves us one step further from a free state, and I have a basic fundamental problem with that.
Yes, smoking is bad, and Flo the waitress will very likely get sick breathing Jack the Truck Drivers cigarette smoke working at the diner. Its unfair to Flo to have to either find another job or jeopardize her health by working there, I conceed that, but thats freakin’ capitalism for you.
I like the idea of taxing smokes. Make em unaffordable, sure, because that’d still be the market correcting the problem. I’d get all behind the idea of having to make a bar, or restaurant, or whatever get a smoke license, laying down money that would go to funds to pay for workplace second hand smoke sufferers, sure, that’d work too.
