Pick your cliché. The one about refusing to learn from history would be apropos. Or perhaps you prefer the definition of insanity as expecting different results from consistent activity. Whatever, welcome to the latest chapter in the ongoing paralysis of the Democratic Party in Lucas County.
Loyal reederz of this humble opinion-slingin’ column already know the story so far. About the deep rift in the Dems that pitted pro-labor but socially conservative Ds against their more progressive-minded sisteren and brethren. Which reached its crescendo during the mid-aughts with Carty challenging incumbent D Mayor Smilin’ Jack Ford and trouncing him, a municipal race that had two separate D slates competing against each other.
The backstory of this internecine squabbling was the struggle over Party leadership. Then D Chair Paula Ross was deposed in favor of former County Commish Sandy Isenberg. When the ever-volatile Isenberg proved less compliant than expected, the Party went through a series of short-lived Chairs, including Jack Wilson and John Irish.
The latter was de-Chaired after a golf outing fundraiser that included Girls Gone Wild serving drinks. Current Chair Ron Rothenbuhler took over to clean up the mess and try to restore some sense of unity to the fractured ranks. To his credit, the waves have calmed considerably under his leadership.
By the by, a major change to party bylaws during the raucous years barred the Party from endorsing before Primary elections. Little noticed at the time, it was the foreshadowing of the ultimate climax of the trouble a-brewin’ for the Ds.
A November to remember
This brings the story up to last year, when incumbent Mayor Mikey Bell was ripe for the taking, and the Ds had every opportunity to reclaim the 22nd Floor. Instead, two heavyweights from the D camp whaled away on each other all through the Primary season. To be fair, it was more Council Prez Joey McNamara whaling on Auditor Anita Lopez, with A Lo forced to fend off the blows. Either way, it lead to neither one having at Hizzoner in his vulnerable bits.
The result, as you probably know, was that neither D survived the Primary, and the General Election had no Ds for the first time in memory. To make it worse, long-time Ds Ford and Larry Sykes refused to seek Party endorsements. Incumbent School Board member Bob Vasquez sought the endorsement, but was passed over because he supported hiring a law firm to undertake difficult labor negotiations when he was Board President. Negotiations which, incidentally, passed without incident and led to contracts ratified by all parties.
November thus proved a disaster for the official D Party. Incumbent Steven Steel was the only endorsed D to win a Council seat, the other two endorsed D incumbents lost while the unendorsed Ford and Sykes joined independents and Republicans in victory. Unendorsed Vasquez also won, finishing first over D-endorsed candidates.
It was one thing when D bickering led to this or that Dem beating that or this other Dem. Now the tumor has metastasized, and Ds are losing to Rs and Rs in “independent” clothing.
Of course, the Ds have learned from this sordid history. They are fighting mad, and ready to rise to the challenge! They are working as we speak to develop new Party leadership and diverse, vibrant candidates. They are organizing diligently at the street level to re-energize the Democratic base, and are ready and eager to put the past behind them and come roaring forth into a new, brighter and winning future!
Oops, we did it again
Not so much. The current leadership wants another term to show, umm, exactly what isn’t really clear. But they have taken the bold step of writing new words into the by-laws that allow for
pre-Primary endorsements, and charge some yet-to-be-determined group with finding candidates!
Take that, GOP!
And that street level organizing? After the May elections, the local GOP will have more representatives at the precinct level, while the Ds will have fallen to about three of every four precincts having no D rep at all.
As to the winning. Current District 2 Council Rep Matt Cherry faces a hard challenge this May to keep his seat from R-turned-“independent” Marcia Helman. Momentum has been on his side, with a huge group of Ds from across the Party showing up at his campaign kickoff to demonstrate support and write campaign checks. If that unity can just hold, he…
Oops. Vasquez has now declared himself a candidate in the race, thereby splintering the D vote. Remember, Vasquez was snubbed by the Party for endorsement a scant few months ago. So he refuses to seek it now, and is figuratively hitching his hindquarters at the D leadership.
The Ds can test their newfangled endorsement tool, but it couldn’t possibly matter to a stalwart like Vasquez who won’t seek the endorsement anyway. So the addition of Vasquez to the race is basically a zeroing out of D chances in the May election.
Then there’s the race to replace a Dem on the Domestic Relations Court, which has three Ds fighting it out. But that can wait for another column.
For now, we leave you with one final cliché to chew on. Those stuck in a rut usually end up in the same place they’ve always been.
