Election day Tuesday...woo-fricking-hoo

Updated 3/31, see below.

Guess what, Tuesday is (yet another) election day and boy am I not at all excited. As much drama as there's been this particular election season, most of the actual races are snoozers and it's been hard for me to get worked up about any of the folks on the ballot (excluding my boss...I'd rather not work for a guy who thinks I'm a rat on a sinking ship, thank-you-very-much!).

From city council to school board, circuit judge to state supreme court, there isn't a whole lot to inspire Northside voters.

The most crucial election this spring is for school board. As the link above tells you, I work at DPI and -- much as I'd like to -- I've refrained from commenting on school issues for professional reasons. But I think it's fair to point out what a disappointment this election season has been for parents, students, and taxpayers in the Madison Metropolitan School District.

Sarah Manski did us all an inadvertent public service: Despite the utter contempt for our kids and community that her campaign-and-withdrawal showed, it finally laid bare the racial and economic divide underlying our happy progressive facade (this week's Isthmus has a great write-up; you should check it out). Still, I can't give T.J. Mertz a free pass for surviving the Manski fiasco; I'll write in Ananda Marilli, the candidate Manski's shenanigans kept off next week's ballot, even though she's no longer running.

Legislative aide Greg Packnett is taking on board president James Howard. Packnett is a personal acquaintance; I know him as a loyal and experienced Democratic operative, but I'd never heard of him in connection with education until he announced his campaign. Howard has the edge on experience, but he was particularly evasive and defensive when the board's failed vetting of superintendent candidate Walter Milton came to light. I'll probably vote for Howard but I wish he'd have owned the board's collective mistake with Milton.

Finally, Dean Loumos and Wayne Strong have the most competitive race, with a clear distinction between the "machine" candidate (Loumos) and the "outsider" (Strong). I find board member Ed Hughes' thoughts on Strong compelling, and the WordArt cheesiness of his campaign mailer just melts my heart. Strong has my vote.

Then we have the District 12 city council contest...to quote the timeless Bill Lumbergh: "yeahhhh." Larry Palm is a council incumbent with a solid record, while Leslie Peterson is running well to the left of the district (although the Northside's day as Madison conservatives' last bastion is long over, it sure as hell ain't Willy Street). Palm could've wrapped things up months ago; instead, he's run a bland, sluggish campaign that could well cost him the race. I doubt I'll decide until the voting booth, and it'll be a choice between two of my political dislikes: the Green Party vs. over-complacent incumbents.

Update 3/31: Leslie Peterson lost my vote. She had a canvasser up here today, which makes at least two (and probably three) voter contacts in the neighborhood to Palm's zero -- so far, so good for her. Peterson's door card lists all her endorsers...and who do I see in the Ms but Ben Manski? After what the Manskis pulled, that's a dealbreaker.

In the circuit court race, challenger Rhonda Lanford is using the same "Walker appointee" smear against her opponent, Judge Rebecca St. John, that now-Judge Ellen Berz used to such great success last year. It's an absurd argument -- carried to its logical conclusion, it means nobody with a hint of progressivism should bother applying for local elective vacancies if and when Governor Walker has cause to exercise his constitutional duty, ceding each appointment to the first right-winger who comes along! My vote is for St. John.

There's a state supreme court seat on the ballot, too. Justice Roggensack will be re-elected.

Happy Easter!