by @BarryRafkind in Announcements, Politics, Ward 7
Posted on November 4, 2011 at 6:34 pm
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Yesterday, the Somerville Journal announced (see quote below) it would not endorse in the race for Ward 7 Alderman. They rightly refrained from endorsing incumbent Bob Trane because of his lack of independence from the mayor. However, while they praised Katjana Ballantyne for her commitment to responsiveness and mixed-use development, they stopped short of endorsing because of “her obliqueness on many of the issues”. What does that mean, you ask?
Merriam-Webster.com defines obliqueness as “the quality or state of having a veiled or uncertain meaning.” It seems the SJ did not feel Katjana was clear about her positions, although they surely had ample opportunity to read the statements on her website www.Katjana.org and ask her questions in person when they sat down together. Without knowing which of her positions they felt were unclear, we readers are left wondering how the SJ staff formed that impression of her. Their statement seems pretty “oblique” to me.
For me, the decision is simple. The incumbent is too close with the mayor, so we need an independent voice to represent us, someone like Katjana. That she shares my progressive values and has worked hard canvassing the ward all Summer is enough to earn my vote.
From the SJ:
Although both candidates have expressed a dedication to Ward 7 neighbors, we do not feel strongly enough to put full support behind either one. Incumbent Bob Trane has an important bond with many of his dedicated constituents, but he seems more skeptical of the mayor’s critics than of the mayor himself. Challenger Katjana Ballantyne wants to give the residents more of a voice and is a big advocate for mixed-use development, but her obliqueness on many of the issues does not give voters, or us, a real sense of how she will represent the ward.
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Maybe the Journal meant this definition (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/oblique):
4.
a. Indirect or evasive: oblique political maneuvers.
b. Devious, misleading, or dishonest: gave oblique answers to the questions.
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Perhaps because of the Republican primary ballot matter.
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Well, it doesn’t make sense that she would have lied about this or voted Republican given her Democratic leaning, so I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt that the election worker recorded her vote under the wrong party.
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Barry, we knew more about JWP after her first piece of literature than we know about Ballantyne after four months of campaigning.
IMO, Ballantyne squandered the opportunity.
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And, if she’s so ‘Democrat leaning’ why wasn’t she a registered Democrat and why isn’t she a member of the Progressive Democrats?
Failure to commit is a sign of obliqueness.
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@Ward Seven: I don’t know the status of Katjana’s affiliation with PDS…but, just as an FYI, PDS will recruit, endorse, and assist a candidate even if they are not formal members of the Progressive Democrats of Somerville.
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I understand that, Courtney. Ballantyne, herself, said that she is not a member of PDS (when their endorsement procedure was being questioned).
http://ward7somerville.blogspot.com/2011/08/ballantyne-denounces-pds.html
But, if she is to be thought of as the progressive, left-leaning candidate I have to wonder _why_ she isn’t a member of these organizations. Take a stand, whydoncha?
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I don’t get it, either and have decided that the process of which PDS chooses their candidates to endorse or recruit is beyond my comprehension
On a different topic, thank you for spreading the word about my mock elections on Ward 5 Online last week! Much appreciated!
http://ward7somerville.blogspot.com/2011/11/ward-7-election-today-on-ward5online.html
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You’re welcome — BTW, I saw your ‘thank you’ tweet and wrote a reply but never hit ‘send’ (doh!). When I realized several hours later that I hadn’t sent it, I cancelled it.
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Re: Ballantyne it just seems to me that she’s taking a ‘have your cake and eat it too’ position. If talking to someone who supports PDS then she can mention their endorsement; if talking to someone who does not support PDS then she can mention that she is not a member.
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