Comments on: valedictorian electorate

By: Bruce De Benedictis

Bruce De Benedictis — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 06:02:14 +0000

I think the vote in Fremont is not a reflection of the relative merits of Joe Bischofberger or Jeff Davis, or Nancy Jewell Cross, for that matter. For some time there have been people with influence expressing discontent with AC Transit service in that area, and votes against the incumbent are more a reflection of that than anything else.

By: Capricious Commuter

Capricious Commuter — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 18:25:46 +0000

Leslie, I think that by the time voters get down to the bottom of the electoral barrel, ballot-wise, learning has very little to do with it. Aaron’s point about “transit planner,” which I had heard but hadn’t verified yet, gets right to my pet theory, i.e., many voters make snap judgements based on things like the stated occupation on the ballot, or on a more LCD level, on how they relate to the person’s name (ethnicity, national origin, gender). I’ve heard that, other factors being equal, women tend to do better than men on school board races. On a more relevant, albeit gut-level mode of decision-making, one may simply vote against the incumbent (unless the incumbent declines to list that on the ballot) simply because he or she remembers hearing something about fare increases and service cuts. I got to speed through my ballot for the first time this year because as a freelancer, I wrote about unsound levees that protect large swaths of the Central Valley, leaving large populations of new development in Sacramento particularly vulnerable. I also wrote about a big eminent domain issue, so Prop 90 immediately caught my eye. Then, as ANG’s, now BANG’s transportation writer, I wrote about infrastructure bonds. All that remained were local ballot measures and up-ticket races, so I was set. My concern is, what about people who aren’t paid to know this stuff?

By: Leslie Stewart

Leslie Stewart — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 00:29:18 +0000

And you would have thought that voters would have learned from the Nancy Jewell Cross experience, but apparently not! Bischofberger was accused of complacency when he lost to Cross eight years ago. Perhaps “voter fatigue” was actually to blame this time.

PS — Nice to find another Anderson voter! But I have to admit it wasn’t my first election!

By: Aaron Priven

Aaron Priven — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 23:18:37 +0000

Nancy Jewell Cross listed her occupation as “transit planner” and won in the same seat eight years ago.