Burdz Eye View: The GOP and its lovely group of Presidential conte...

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Burdz Eye View: The GOP and its lovely group of Presidential conte...: This is my first blog and coming up with an idea on the spot is proving difficult, so I’ll start with a group of people who will be under intense scrutiny for the next few months to a year: Republican presidential candidates.

Many analysts speculate that the GOP don’t have a candidate the whole party can get behind and that can also defeat Barack Obama next year.

A group has assembled that includes former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza Herman Cain, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

There are a handful of others, but these are the ones who have the best chance and take part in nationally televised debates. Romney has been the de facto frontrunner for some time, albeit Cain and Perry have leapfrogged him in the polls a couple of times and Paul just won the Illinois straw poll.

A quick rundown on them would have to say allegations of sexual harassment by Herman Cain in the ‘90s are coming out, most of Bachmann’s staff recently resigned, Romney has flip-flopped on numerous issues, no one remembers who Gingrich is, Googling “Rick Santorum” is not something you should do around kids, and Paul wants to eliminate the federal government’s role in mortgage financing and issuing student loans.

The only one I don’t know much about is Huntsman. The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristoff said recently he thinks Huntsman is the best candidate and would be able to beat Obama. That’s a pretty big endorsement from one of America’s best columnists, but Republicans don’t read The New York Times.

Today, I’ll focus on some recent happenings in the Republican world.

While Bachmann has been yukking it up for some time now, Perry hasn’t had as much time on the national satge. Entering the race for the Republican nomination in August, most people thought it was a little late to announce his candidacy.

Election Day 2011 - Recap.

 Yesterday was election day, my first election day as a political reporter. Sure it was an off year for elections, in the sense that there were no national or statewide elections, but that doesn't mean that there weren't important decisions to be made across Downriver.

Allen Park saw one of, if not the most important elections in the history of the city. Bill Matakas won the mayoral  race, while four new councilmen were elected along with two incumbents. A new treasurer was also elected. A proposal to help the city fund public safety (ie the police and fire departments). There had been a ton of debate on both sides of the issue, but it passed by a healthy margin. A second proposal for the debt reduction of the Allen Park Studio Center (formerly Unity Studios) failed by a large margin. The new mayor and council need to figure out a way to pay off that debt now without the extra money that would have generated, they have a tough road ahead.

Taylor saw Mayor Jeffrey Lamarand face a recall, and after a brutal campaign he prevailed by a large margin and will serve out the rest of his term.

In Lincoln Park, sitting Mayor Frank Vaslo was defeated by Pat Krause. I don't know a lot about the politics of that city, but our LP reporter Alan Burdziak was a bit surprised when the results rolled in.

Melvindale, the other city that I cover saw sweeping changes, as only a single incumbent was re-elected, the city will have a new mayor, clerk, treasurer, and five new council members.

Southgate, Flat Rock, and several other of our communities saw mostly no contests in their elections as most positions ran with just the requisite number of candidates to fill the offices.

Several of us worked in the office from very early in the morning, until around midnight going to polling locations, taking pictures, shooting video and generally updating the website at every opportunity. All in all it was a very fun night last night, and congratulations to all the winners.

Election Day! (Get out and Vote)

   There is nothing more important in the U.S. than election day. Many men have fought and died for American's right to vote, and today is one of those days. I urge all of my American reader's (and that's most of you) to get out and vote.
   Here in the Downriver area, we have many very important races depending on what city you are in. Allen Park, one of the cities I specifically cover has two ballot proposal's, which depending on how they could will shape the city for at least the short term future. Whether they pass or not, will affect the way the city is run, at least for the next couple of years, if not for a lot longer. Allen Park also has candidates running for Mayor, treasurer, and all six City Council seats. Incumbent city clerk Mike Mizzi is the only one that knows for sure he will still have a job in the morning.
   In Taylor, sitting mayor Jeffrey Lamarand is facing a recall vote after just two years in office. Several other of the municipalities that the we cover have millage requests, or key races as well. I'm personally not knowledgeable on every race, it would be impossible to be so, but there is great coverage of all the races on thenewsherald.com.
   My own hometown had only a road millage on the ballot, and I'll be moving out of the town by the end of the month, so I didn't feel it right for me to cast my vote one way or the other to raise taxes, or not fix the roads, when it would not affect me, but I still went and got my ballot, then filed it as a blank one. I feel that strongly that it's important to get that "I Voted" sticker.
   Once again, Downriver, or where ever you may be, I urge you to get out and vote today.