And they're off!

After a few recent Council elections in which the island only managed to field a handful of old codgers, change seems to have finally come.

Not only do we have some real, honest-to-goodness contests, but the range and breadth is something to celebrate. Rather than the usual "old white guys", we have working stiffs, civic-minded mommies, young folks and even (Gasp!) a candidate that's not a WASPy whitey.

Here's the rundown of the races:

All-Island: Barry "Sustainability" Peters running uncontested for Nezam Tooloee's position.

North ward: Matt "Lil' Lawyer" Van Winkle, Hilary "Eco Attorney" Franz, and Charlie "Chamber of Commerce" Frame.

Central ward: Bill "Golf Ball" Knobloch, Lauren "Lil' Mamma" Ellis (the non-caucasian of the bunch. I believe she's Asian), John "Where is" Waldo, and Carol "Poulsbohemian" Barrows.

South ward: Curt "Highwayman" Winston, Robert "Ok, might as well run for City Council" Dashiell, and Kim "Tolo Terrorist" Brackett.

Quite a line up. Odds are on Franz, Knobloch and Brackett.
Franz because she has a quite a resume (land use attorney, activist, environmentalist). Knobby because he's known and works hard (too hard?) to please his constituents. AndBrackett because she probably better represents the island (middle-aged and left-leaning). Winston and Dashiell are a bit conservative and Dashiell is actually running on an anti-affordable housing platform (go figure).

Of course, Barry Peters gets a free ticket to the council. That rankles me a bit. Being elected to office means you run. You get out there and earn votes. Peters merely has to scratch his ass and pick his nose, and he gets a council seat. But it wasn't always that way. Remember last week? Before John Waldo freaked out and jumped into the packed race in the Central ward? I think that Waldo's move was a disservice to local democracy. No, really. He staked his claim, so others staked theirs. No one else eyed the All-island race thinking it was well-full of top-tier politicos. So they crowded into the ward races.

Meanwhile, candidates shake hands and agree not to raise funds. Instead, they agree to attend meetings and do door-bellings and talk with voters. But in the All-Island race, Barry and Waldo stockpiled money, thousands in fact. So then Waldo switches to the Central race at the last minute Friday and brings with him a ton more money than the rest of the candidates.

Don't know why Waldo had cold feet at the end, but his move smells of politics rather than public service. They guy wants to win, even if he tangles up other races and allows one guy to coast in unopposed.

But, in general, I think we'll see some "spirited debate," as they say. And we'll actually have to spend some quality time when we sit down with our ballot this time around.