The short answer is yes. One knows this because of their behavior. Three examples come to mind:
1. Frank Ferry’s fundraising email on February 22 requesting $45,000 in 30 days to the business community to beat back a challenge from TimBen Boydston and Dave Gauny and their (until now) unknown Sierra Club and SCOPE allies that will seek to bring a Maoist Worker’s Paradise to the SCV;
2. Marsha McLean’s weird posting concerning how David Gauny “rigged” an endorsement; and
3. Laurie Ender’s set up of a Facebook page for Frank Ferry’s campaign on February 27, 2010.
Now should the incumbents be concerned? No one KNOWS because no one has money to do accurate polling, and for technical reasons, primarily due to historically low voter turnout, polls are of limited use anyway, but one can SPECULATE on what has got them rattled, and I will.
Let us first talk about how the incumbents expect to run a campaign for re-election, at least this time. Collect the proper endorsements, send out a couple of mailers, cut a ribbon on a major road or public building, put up some signs and DONE. They will still do all these things, but something has got them rattled and I can’t quite figure it out. When one examines this objectively, this is currently the campaign that wasn’t. There have been no mailers on absentee ballots, no voter registration, mailers, etc. The fact is that were it not for the SOS rally and Dave Gauny’s participation someone from outside the SCV reading the local media would not even know their was a campaign UNLESS they read the Internet.
And that is the key UNLESS. Based on robust discussions of the informedit would seem there is a lot of interest in the council election and upset with the incumbents. Add to that the sturm and drang over the SOS rally and the potential ability to generate name recognition for Dave Gauny and that could get them rattled as well. Hence the activities discussed above and the Facebook, probably hoping that Frank Ferry will quickly reach 1,000 fans against Dave Gauny’s 478 and feel better about himself. But then the question: Is this lightning in a bottle or more widespread. Of course, no one KNOWS!
What would settle the minds of the incumbents? Remember the fundraising email went out on February 22, five days before the SOS rally basically fizzled, so the incumbents probably feel marginally better. On top of that fundraising reports will be available to the public on Friday, March 5, and a low total by Dave Gauny could make them feel better as well.
However, I will make a prediction that if Dave Gauny and TimBen Boydston have both raised between $10K and $15K EACH, the incumbents will become even more unsettled, and their behavior might turn even more bizarre.
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