Last Thoughts on Recall Election Day

Mostly, if you haven't already, GO VOTE. The general impression, bolstered by anecdotal evidence and what the anti-recall camp has said about their internal polling, is that a clear majority are against the recall but that the pro-recall voters are fanatical highly motivated. It would really be a shame if the will of the majority were defeated by the zealotry of the minority. Yes it's a beautiful day and all, but GO VOTE. You won't be in their long.

A few other points.

• I was voter number 46 in my Ward 8 precinct. The flow was pretty steady this morning at my polling location which includes two other precincts. That is consistent with the report from Summit BoE that Ward 8 is heaviest, and that Ward 8 voters led in absentee voting. In that last story, Mendenhall acknowledges that Ward 8 is more Plusquellic territory
  
• It's a shame that the recall has cast a shadow on the rare bits of good news Akron has heard in the current climate. For example, the rollout of the downtown wifi zone has been scheduled for June since at least last Fall. But because that prescheduled date happens in proximity of the recall it's dismissed as a political stunt.
  
• That said, the Mayor skipping the the rollout was the political equivalent of Darryl Strawberry acknowledging the Fenway crowd. Hizzoner needs to ignore the bleacher creatures.
• The Team Mulligan campaign has been able to pull off little other than volunteer canvassing. No mailers, no bilboards, no yard signs. But over the weekend someone tried to go online-linkage with FixAkron.com signs. The website is more of the same. (E.g. Akron is losing population (as is every city other than Columbus and Cincy). One interesting aspect -- hanging problems with the Akron Building and Health Departments on the Mayor. But remember how Mendenhall tried to pump up Joe Finley's campaign by claiming that the mayor had a tirade at the Building Dept? And that we found out later that he went off because they were offering lousy service to property developers? And that in fact that same building dept was put on probation by the state? Same stuff as we've seen this entire campaign.
• Count me among those who grew weary of the anti-recall mailers that demonized Warner Mendenhall. I'm assuming that with a quarter million to play with that stuff was focus-group tested and all, but after the third mailed reminder of Mendenhall's tax delinquency, I was done.
• Having said that, look for a reprise this fall. Mendenhall's "band of radicals" (according to the mailers) will have candidates going in a lot of city council races this fall and I'm guessing their linkage to Mendenhall will be a frequent talking point in the campaigns.
• One interesting feature of this election has been the total radio silence from the local Republican Party. It may be that the Republicans prefer the devil they know. It may be that the rank and file was insufficiently interested in a recall to make it worth putting the party behind the effort. Still, given the past practice of A²cutting deals across the aisle, it's worth keeping in mind going forward that he never put a dog in this fight.

BTW, if you missed the tweet, my absence the last few days was due to technical difficulties. As of now, those difficulties appear resolved.

Now GO VOTE.