Monday, September 19, 2011

Last Call For 2011 Ogden City Election Provisional Voters

You have up 'til and including 5:00 p.m. today to get your fannies down to Ogden City Recorder Cindi Mansell's office with proof of residency

Here's a timely heads up for those 200 or so 2011 Ogden City Municipal Election voters whom, for one reason or another, were issued provisional ballots during last Tuesday's balloting:
Provisional Ballot voters have up 'til and including 5:00 p.m. today to get your fannies down to Ogden City Recorder Cindi Mansell's office with proof of residency, (or proof of whatever deficiency triggered the issuance of your provisional ballot).

The Ogden City Council will be meeting as the Ogden City Board of Canvass, to consider certifying last week's election results tomorrow night:
The Van Hooser campaign already blew it once, by NOT getting their base to the polls on Tuesday.

Let's not blow it again, Van Hooser fans, now that we have one last chance, slim as it may be, to get Susan Van Hooser back on the ballot.

9 comments:

Knows The Score said...

Even if Ms Van Hooser can edge out the Sockpuppet with an election vote challenge, she doesn't have enough votes to beat this Dope Mike Caldwell, yes or no?

Knows The Score said...

I have to say I'm not real happy about Susies's campaign manager's performance.

How is it possible that Susan Van Hoos2er could finish #3 in this race?

OgdenInformedVoter said...

It would indeed be difficult for Van Hooser to beat Caldwell in a one-on-one matchup. But stranger things have happened in Ogden.

Guest said...

It's simple.  The vote got skewed by the typical low primary turnout.

Dan S. said...

Ah, but skewed in which direction?

I do think the low turnout tended to help candidates who started out with less name recognition, because their core supporters voted and those votes counted more in proportion. But it's hard to say how much, and it's also hard to say exactly how this played out in the dynamics of an 8-candidate field. Higher turnout probably would have helped Van Hooser relative to Caldwell, but it also would have helped Stephenson relative to Caldwell (and relative to Ballard, who came in fourth).

Danny said...

It wasn't a matter of VanHooser not getting her base to the polls.

Her base DID get the the polls.  They just voted for Caldwell.

If she clears the primary, she'll have an uphill battle.  People want to believe Caldwell is other than what his money says he is, just like they did with Godfrey in his first years.

The big money wisely traded Godfrey in.  He was spent.  He didn't decide not to run, the money in town decided he wouldn't run.  His wishes were irrelevant.

The best we can hope is Caldwell will be slow off the line, but will show his true colors within the four years, just enough, and before he can do too much damage.

rudizink said...

Good one, Danny.  Yesiree... I do believe you've put your finger on the problem.

Annie said...

Weird, isn't it, that Ogden City voters consistently demonstrate a core-level aversion to electing grownups to important political offices?

[sigh]

Bob Becker said...

You wrote: "Her base DID get the the polls.  They just voted for Caldwell."

Danny, if they got to the polls and voted for Caldwell [or Goddard or Van Wagoner or any of the others], then they were not her base.  A candidate's base are those voters committed to him or her come hell or high water. That's why getting your base to the polls is priority one for any candidate --- because you know if you can get their kiesters to the polling place, they will vote for you.   If they change their minds before hand or on the way over or in the booth, they weren't your base to begin with.

Councilwoman Van Hooser  carried the banner of "Not Godfrey Again" in the previous election.  I suspect a number of people who voted for her then cast their vote for her  as a vote against Godfrey. That was by no means her entire electorate last time. There were many who considered her then, and last Tuesday too as a class act, an intelligent woman who would make Ogden a good mayor whether Godfrey was on the ballot or not. That was her base and they  voted for her.  

But just as clearly, without Hizzonah on the ballot, some of her voters last time round went to other candidates since she was no longer the "Not Godfrey" candidate because it was no longer a   "Godfrey/Not Godfrey" race.  I know you and Rudi and some others subscribe to the notion, wryly put by an earlier commenter here,  that  practically anyone "who is not Van Hooser is Godfrey," but I don't think that's true, nor  do I think that was a  marketable campaign appeal.   Nor did Ms. Van Hooser, wisely,  make that claim a key to her campaign. If all she had to offer was not being Matt Godfrey, she would not have polled as well as she did, coming withing seventy votes or so of making the run off. Her campaign was much more substantive than that.  

The run off seems to me can now be broadly characterized this way:  the choices are the status quo [or "stay the course" to put it more positively] represented by Councilman Stephenson, or change [or "new directions" to put it more actively] represented by Mr. Caldwell.  You're going to have a heard time, I think,  convincing many voters for the run off that the choices are indeed both secretly named Matt Godfrey, and offer no more choice than Tweedle Dum or Tweedle Dee." 

Just think about it:  taking that tack leaves any undecided voter you convince of its truth no one to vote for at all.  I suspect that kind of bad-loser electoral nihilism will not play well with voters likely to turn out in November.   

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