For the 2012 election cycle, most of my blogs have focused on the presidential election. I've occasionally dipped into some state races, but of course, most of our attention remains fixed on the presidential race.
Today, I want to mention the recall election of Troy, MI mayor Janice Daniels. This is an unusual local election, because we typically hold our municipal elections in odd-numbered years (and they are non-partisan). The only exceptions are local township races, which are partisan and held in even-numbered years along with other partisan races.
Shortly after her election in November 2011, Mayor Daniels quickly emerged as a controversial figure. A before-the-election Facebook posting of hers became widely circulated, in which she had written "I think I am going to throw away my 'I Love New York' carrying bag now that queers can get married there."
She didn't help her image at all in a series of meetings with residents and high schoolers who had asked her for an explanation and apology. In later public statements, she also has compared the dangers of the "homosexual lifestyle" to smoking cigarettes.
Just recently, she incorrectly indicated that the 2012 Troy Distinguished Citizen Award given to Council member Mary Kerwin came from the "Democrat Club," which was both factually incorrect (it was a nonpartisan award) AND a commonly used slur of the Democratic party (often used by George W. Bush, other Republican elected officials, and conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh).
While all of this has received local and even national attention, I would argue that the best reason to recall the mayor has nothing to do with the above-mentioned incidents. During her inauguration, she had referred to the city charter's language as "whimsical" and removed any reference to the charter when she took her oath of office. This is like the U.S. President refusing to give the oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution, in my view.
Any local elected official who refuses to abide by the city's charter SHOULD be removed from office, in my view. They likely would be using their own personal judgments rather than relying on a document that is the product of many years of experience, which has included many different voices and perspectives, to create. A city charter is created and revised through a democratic process, with individuals and groups allowed access into the decision-making process that creates the charter. No one person's judgment is superior to that process, and it is by definition, undemocratic.
I think those who support the recall of Mayor Daniels have a good case. Not because she appears to be homophobic and an ideologue, but because she doesn't seem willing to abide by the Troy City Charter -- the basic governing and operating document of the Troy City government.
John Klemanski
Today, I want to mention the recall election of Troy, MI mayor Janice Daniels. This is an unusual local election, because we typically hold our municipal elections in odd-numbered years (and they are non-partisan). The only exceptions are local township races, which are partisan and held in even-numbered years along with other partisan races.
Shortly after her election in November 2011, Mayor Daniels quickly emerged as a controversial figure. A before-the-election Facebook posting of hers became widely circulated, in which she had written "I think I am going to throw away my 'I Love New York' carrying bag now that queers can get married there."
She didn't help her image at all in a series of meetings with residents and high schoolers who had asked her for an explanation and apology. In later public statements, she also has compared the dangers of the "homosexual lifestyle" to smoking cigarettes.
Just recently, she incorrectly indicated that the 2012 Troy Distinguished Citizen Award given to Council member Mary Kerwin came from the "Democrat Club," which was both factually incorrect (it was a nonpartisan award) AND a commonly used slur of the Democratic party (often used by George W. Bush, other Republican elected officials, and conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh).
While all of this has received local and even national attention, I would argue that the best reason to recall the mayor has nothing to do with the above-mentioned incidents. During her inauguration, she had referred to the city charter's language as "whimsical" and removed any reference to the charter when she took her oath of office. This is like the U.S. President refusing to give the oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution, in my view.
Any local elected official who refuses to abide by the city's charter SHOULD be removed from office, in my view. They likely would be using their own personal judgments rather than relying on a document that is the product of many years of experience, which has included many different voices and perspectives, to create. A city charter is created and revised through a democratic process, with individuals and groups allowed access into the decision-making process that creates the charter. No one person's judgment is superior to that process, and it is by definition, undemocratic.
I think those who support the recall of Mayor Daniels have a good case. Not because she appears to be homophobic and an ideologue, but because she doesn't seem willing to abide by the Troy City Charter -- the basic governing and operating document of the Troy City government.
John Klemanski
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