This wasnt the outcome I wanted, but thats what living in a democracy means. If Tony Yarber had come in with huge amounts of money, benefited from racial panic in Wards 1 and 7, and won the election under unsavory circumstances without the support of the majority of the city, I would be more worried than I am about the future of our city. But he consistently raised less money than several other candidates, and won with a citywide base of support with one of the slickest and most efficient political campaigns Ive ever seen. I hope Tony looks hard at the policy agenda Chokwe Lumumba won on last year and chooses to make some of those causes—especially the human rights charter/Human Rights Commission and the diversity-in-contracts issue—his own. But when out-of-state reporters contacted me following Chokwes election last year and his death earlier this year, I often referred them over to Tony as a good point of contact on the City Council. And theres a reason for that—Tony has been very accessible and, in our one-on-one interactions, kind and reasonable. Id recommend staying away from the comments sections on right-wing blogs for a few days; theyre out of touch with the city, and they have no idea who Jackson has just elected (Id wager most of them havent even set foot in Tonys home ward). For my part, Im confident we elected a good mayor. Not someone with Chokwe Lumumbas platform, but still a good mayor. And he fought fair. Yarber supporters, enjoy yourselves tonight. Youve earned it.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Apr 2014 02:09:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015