It is the right of the parties in our free society to voice their support of candidates; however, this situation seems ripe for abuse, especially after the parties have been specifically excluded by the voter-approved Charter.
We continue to question whether either party can offer anything constructive on the local level. We continue to question whether candidates who seek endorsements are following the spirit of the Charter (and the will of the people). It smacks of purity tests, and we fear we will end up with party-managed candidates on the local level just like we have them at every other level in our political system.
See the email below: Party questionnaire is required? Get back to me by the 17th at noon?
How about, "Take my clothes to the cleaners for me. Walk my dog, too, and drop this line item in the upcoming legislation."
Watch the brief clip of John Stewart where he comments on the extent to which national candidates are managed (starts about 1min 30sec into the clip). From our perspective, we don't want to encourage that sort of behavior here.
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Subject: Democratic Party Endorsement
From: "Ron Zee" <ronaldzee@yahoo.com>
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Dear Candidate,
If you would like to request endorsement by San Juan County Democrats in
the race for the County Council, please contact me by email before noon, Monday, December 17. Completion of a questionnaire is required in the endorsement process. Thank you and good luck with your campaign.
Sincerely,
Ron Zee
Chair
San Juan County Democrats