My full response to the News Journal asking about issues affecting the 16th Senate District:
In the context of running as a write in candidate against an incumbent, I would have to say that obstacles to political participation are an issue statewide. I realize that given the size of Senator Buckson's caucus and his general lack of effectiveness he doesn't really have any power to constitute a threat, but since he seems to be climbing a political ladder his radical positions should be challenged by a better and more serious candidate. The barriers to ballot access are such that no one else mounted a more serious challenge to him though, so here I am. This is not the only race where incumbents aren't being challenged in this election and it's common in previous elections across the state as well. The only thing unique about the circumstances in SD16 is that I lived here for a futile and stupid gesture to be done on somebody's part.
More generally the 16th Senate District has been effectively absent from the General Assembly for the last two years. The few bills Senator Buckson introduced that actually became law were bipartisan adjustments to the code with no opposition. The sort of legislation that legislators distribute so everyone gets a turn. The bulk of his time is spent attaching his name to every partisan stunt his caucus tries. If Senator Buckson were serious about representing his district or advocating for the issues associated with his legislative virtue signaling, he would be focused more on finding ways to work with the overwhelming Democratic majority instead of recording truck videos about their refusal to take his caucus seriously.
I'm not a Democrat. I think they get several things wrong even when their hearts are in the right place but I'm confident that a less demonstrative approach more focused on engagement with the legislative process can see a correction to the groupthink that can easily afflict a Democratic super majority without engaging in performative stunts that seem to primarily serve to endear the incumbent to statewide primary voters for his climb up the DEGOP hierarchy.
Thanks for being thorough enough to interview write in candidates. Feel free to call directly for any follow ups.
No comments:
Post a Comment