Monday, June 26, 2006
From San Diego to Humboldt, the No Confidence Movement Expands
The response to San Diego's recent botched "election" continues to escalate. To the right is a poster for two emergency town hall meetings happening this week in LA and San Diego. BradBlog's Brad Friedman will be presiding. No Confidence supporters now include the Commonweal Institute, and The Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists' Social Justice Committee, both of which endorsed the CEPN resolution (.pdf), FL-24 Congressional Candidate Clint Curtis, CA-49 Congressional Candidate Jeeni Criscenzo, and conservative radio host (and former San Diego Mayor) Roger Hedgecock, among others. See BradBlog for more details.
Good things happen when BradBlog picks up content from WDNC. Last Monday I posted a picture of the best election protest signs ever. The photo, which appeared in the June 9 edition of the Humboldt Advocate, was taken at the Voter Confidence Committee press conference held two hours before the close of polls during the June 6 "election" here in Humboldt County. After the picture also appeared here on BradBlog, I was contacted by documentary filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman who is nearing completion of a movie about the quest for fair elections. The photo belongs to the newspaper so naturally I could only refer her there rather than grant permission to use it in her film. However, Monday morning I'm meeting with Seeking Solutions producer Eileen McGee who shot footage of the press conference. We will be sending Dorothy a DVD and then I guess we'll wait to see if it makes it in the film. At first she said it was probably too late but after reading the prepared remarks I gave that evening, she said it was "VERY intriguing."
Also coming up this week, I have separate appointments with Charles Winkler, editor of the Eureka Times-Standard, and Glenn Franco Simmons, Winkler's counterpart at Eureka's other daily paper, The Reporter. I am wondering if perhaps one of the more sympathetic radio program directors in town might like to move this discussion into a broader public forum for debate? The community needs to know how its local media justifies publishing what it can't prove or independently verify.
Finally, I crossed paths with Larry Glass on Friday night. I've mentioned Glass only tangentially in the past as he is the spokesperson for CREG, Citizens For Real Economic Growth, the community group coalescing resistance to the big box development on the balloon track, the last unused parcel of Eureka waterfront. My passing references to Glass have been in the context of remarks made by Eureka City Councilmember Jeff Leonard who has challenged the legitimacy of opinion polling commissioned by Glass. Leonard has insisted the community has the right to verify how the polling was done, and so I have asked Leonard to be consistent and also call for verification of election results via hand counting ballots. When I saw Glass on the street I instinctively darted over to introduce myself, explaining the common cause we share. Glass demonstrated some familiarity with the Diebold issues we face and said he could talk to his long time acquaintance, County Elections Manager Lindsey McWilliams. I'm not so sure what that can do but I'm all for Lindsey hearing about it from all quarters. My point to Glass was more that he could borrow my angle as another way to fend off Leonard. Aside from the wonderful a-ha moment this produced, I also learned that Glass is going to run for City Council in November against incumbent Mary Beth Wolford. So far I can only see how that is a very good thing.
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