Been There, Done That. Willing to Go Back There, and Do That, Again.

I suppose technically, I ran for Commission in 2013 and 2016.  But I wasn't running for so much as I was running against in those years.  In 2013, Noah Jacobs, and the possibility of Bryan Cooper, had to be displaced, and I ran, hoping to defeat either or both of them.  Bryan didn't run, and Noah lost.  For me, the problem was solved.  The fact is, I came in third, and only a very few votes better than Harvey Bilt, who I thought at the time would have made a good Commissioner.  But I didn't choose to decline my third place victory, so that Harvey could be elected.  I served my three years.  (We had also attached ourselves to the general election, so all Commissioners got an extra year, so we could synchronize.)  I thought we made some important elements of progress for the Village, I was satisfied, and I did not feel a need to run again.  And I said so.  Repeatedly.  And publicly.  Until near the end of the qualifying period, when I saw who was running, and who I thought would most likely win.

So I changed my mind, and I ran again in 2016.  My sole intention was to try to prevent an automatic majority/slate of Tracy Truppman, Jenny Johnson-Sardella, and Will Tudor from being elected.  I didn't work hard enough in that campaign, and I didn't win.  And the Village began to unravel, fast.  First, it was Tracy/Jenny/Will, then it was Tracy/Jenny/Will/Harvey, then it was Tracy/Jenny/Will/Betsy Wise.  It was relentless and destructive.  Harvey served a short term, Betsy, Jenny, and Tracy eventually quit, and only Will remains from that debacle.  It's a complete mystery what Will is doing there.

After the abdications, we were still stuck with Will, but now, we also had Dan Samaria, who had already been there since 2018 (and who had actually been doing a good job, and who should have been an asset), and we had Ginny O'Halpin, Mac Kennedy, and Roxy Ross.  If Dan had not inexplicably gone to some other dimension, and if Ginny had turned out to be competent, we would have had an adaptive Commission.  But that's not what happened.  Dan and Ginny somehow got seduced or hypnotized or something, and the two of them teamed up with Will to keep the Commission maladaptive and nonfunctional.

This coming November, three terms will end, as three terms end every time we have an election.  Will Tudor's term will end, and Mac Kennedy's and Roxy Ross' fill-in terms will end.  And for a while, no one was talking openly about running.  But Art Gonzalez declared an interest, then registered his candidacy, and I have every confidence Mac Kennedy will run for re-election.  That's two.  We need three.

At the beginning of the last week of qualifying, someone told me Judi Hamelburg might decide to run.  The same person told me I should run.  (I never knew this, but apparently, Judi ran for Commission more than 15 years ago, but she didn't win.)  We don't see much of Judi, and when we do, she either talks superfluously, or she quickly works any discussion about anything around to her own personal experience, as if everything was somehow always all about her.  She was also a prominent member of the "Anyone but Fred" crusade in 2016, so she's part of what brought us Tracy, Jenny, and Will.  And I've never heard that she regretted her posture.  So I had my concerns about Judi.  But if she was seriously planning to run, and if she could make herself a creditable Commissioner, then I was prepared to support her.  As with Noah and Bryan, and with Tracy, Jenny, and Will, my main interest was to interrupt a maladaptive dynamic for the Village.  Today, that maladaptive dynamic relies on Ginny and Dan, who have no way to think through issues, and who appear to take direction from Milt Hunter, and Will Tudor, who is grossly uninterested in the Village, and who seems to derive a weird satisfaction from helping the Village flounder.  All of that goes away if Mac gets re-elected, Art gets elected, and one other adaptive person gets on the Commission.  If Judi can be that third adaptive person, great.

So, on Monday, August 17, I sent Judi an e-mail.  I told her I wanted to talk to her about something, and I gave her my phone number.  Judi never responded to the e-mail, and she didn't call me.   This was not a good omen, if my wish was to be reassured that Judi could be adaptive.

On Tuesday, August 18, I picked up a candidate packet.  On Wednesday, I opened a candidate bank account.  And I still didn't hear from Judi.

On Thursday, August 20, William Abreu filed candidacy.  I have no idea who William Abreu is.  I'm told he's Brazilian, very young (possibly under 30), and that he lives off 11th Pl.  The idea that totally uninitiated people can govern an area and constituency seems to be infectious.

Late in the day on Friday, August 21, Will Tudor submitted paperwork to run, again.  It's completely unknown what this is about for Will, but "he's ba-ack."  Or he just won't leave.

So now, we have six candidates for the three seats.  Of those six, two will get four year terms, and the third will get a two year term.

Here's my suggestion.  Mac Kennedy has been an excellent Commissioner, and you should vote for him.  Art Gonzalez has been a dedicated and interested neighbor with very good organizational experience, and you should vote for him, too.

I am steady, goal-oriented, and I have always been good for my motto: "For the Best We Can Be."  I provide stability, no nonsense, and I act as a kind of ballast.  I prevent the ship from getting out of control or tipping over.  I suggest you vote for me.

I cannot suggest you vote for Judi Hamelburg, because she has not shown the kind of even-temperedness and devotion to the Village (that part of it that is outside herself) that is necessary for proper Commission functioning.

I cannot suggest you vote for William Abreu, because I know nothing about him, and he has given no one any reason to assume he is interested in or knowledgeable about the Village.  If he has something to tell us that we don't know, he has some time to do it.

I strongly suggest you not vote for Will Tudor, because he has enabled every bad thing that has happened to the Village since the end of 2016, and he is plainly not interested.