THE REAL WINNERS of the September 19 Tucson primary election were the members of the League of Non-voters, an actual group whose slogan is, "Don't vote--it just encourages them."
The rationalizations for the paltry 12 percent turnout for the mayoral race have come from all sides, but the Democrats are loudest: There was no GOP mayoral primary; or Independents were counted into the turnout; or The voter rolls have a lot of sludge because nobody purges them any more; or, The dog ate my homework.
Match apples with apples. The Demo turnout for a citywide mayoral primary, with two out of three wards having council choices, was 18 percent. That's the lowest number in modern history. Why?
Because the two candidates for mayor ran miserable campaigns. I've seen more exciting--not to mention more interesting and better managed--races for constable. Or high school class secretary. Both these guys ran campaigns so bad they had more votes the day they filed than they got into the ballot box.
George Miller had more money to waste on bad television spots
than opponent Bruce Wheeler. They were so boring and inane they
helped depress the turnout. Miller said nothing, and now he claims
everybody loves him because non-voting means everybody's happy.
He believes apathy is a positive expression. It ain't even apathy,
it's disgust. Some wonder if Miller is weak enough to be beaten
by a Republican. If somebody could find $50,000 to match with
city funds, you could beat this stiff with a Whig.
Wheeler had a campaign so bad that if he'd been paid to take a dive, you couldn't tell. He waited forever to do anything, from announcing to filing for matching funds, which he didn't qualify for until a couple days before the primary. He was so worried about somebody attacking him that he never contrasted himself to Miller on the issues--or anything else. Mentioning an issue is not discussing it. His campaign was dysfunctional from day one--he overruled campaign staff and advisors and simply refused to do what has to be done to beat an incumbent in any primary: Tell the voters why they should dump the guy they've got. Wheeler apparently thought he could win by some process of osmosis.
Bruce, as Jay Leno asked Hugh Grant, What the hell were you thinking?
Demo voters might have heard that message, and then perhaps a full 82 percent of them wouldn't have blown it off and stayed home. When an incumbent mayor can claim only 12 percent of his own party in a primary, he's vulnerable.
