Issue 7: The Paul Gallagher Weeniethon

The genesis of Issue 7 was covered in previous posts. I discussed the rancor between County Council and Executive James McCarthy here, and Council voting to submit the issue for the ballot here.

I didn’t cover Paul Gallagher’s increasing churlishness as the campaign drags on. When McCarthy mused about challenging the legality of the charter change, Gallagher cut loose with something along the lines of “he will be thwarting the will of the people.” Of course if the will of the people is illegal it should be thwarted. Such rhetoric is generally the purview of right-wingers, but Gallagher is apparently not proud. (The story is now behind the BJs paywall. You can pay to see it here.)

Now Gallagher is in a twist because the Summit Co Dems have voted to oppose the issue. This is clearly a slapdown to Gallagher and his effort. He reads it as the county Dems taking McCarthy’s side over Council’s. A cooler head might consider the possibility that the County Dems have decided that emasculating the Executive simply because you don’t like the guy currently holding the position is not good government.

The BJ came out against Issue 7, reciting many of the same arguments I made. What will happen, God only knows. There is no organized opposition, but an awful lot of the Dems who know about this are against it. Republicans dislike McCarthy, mostly because he doesn’t hate his predecessor, Tim Davis. Will they vote for it just out of spite?

What aggravates me about it all is the waste. Every time I see a huge Issue 7 sign, I see that much money and effort going toward this folly instead of actually accomplishing something for Democrats. Even if Summit Dems weren’t going to line up behind RON, they could have helped bankroll the judicial races or Joyce Sawyer’s apparently stillborn run at Muni Court Clerk.

But instead we are diddling around with this nonsense. If RON is successful, we still need to have an effective party to win elections. I find reasons to hope. The sad saga of Issue 7 isn't one of them.