There is a great deal of talk among the politically interested residents of this city about how the votes in the September primary will be divvied up.
Some believe the mayor controls the vote, that he, in fact, owns the vote, and that unless he releases those who have voted for him before, they will all vote for him again and again.
Many of those same people believe that the mayor’s friends in public office control the votes of those who vote for them. They believe those people can tell their supporters to vote for the mayor and their bidding will be automatically done.
Many believe all the city employees who are made to donate to the mayor will vote for him so they can keep their jobs.
If it was a simple as this for the mayor, we wouldn’t need to have an election.
Candidates barely control their own vote let alone do they have the power to tell their supporters how to vote for others. This was proven decidedly last time around when the mayor supported his best friend Al Lattanzi in the Ward 6 race. Lattanzi went on to lose rather convincingly.
In fact, against Councilor Michael McLaughlin, he never had a chance despite having the full support of the mayor.
We read in another newsletter Lattanzi’s announcement. He is again playing the mayor’s game and believing he can win with the mayor’s support.
We can guarantee Mr. Lattanzi the vote won’t work this way for him, especially when he’s faced with a well-known and popular opponent, Ross Pietrantonio.
Every candidate succeeds or fails on their own merits.
Not many votes transfer from one candidate to another because the mayor wants it that way.
Ask Mike McLaughlin what he thinks about this.