The big news this week is the withdrawal of Mitz Lee from the District 5 City Council race. Those followers of Café know that several weeks ago I said she was, in my opinion, the strongest candidate. I also said it is a long time before the election and anything can happen. In this race it did.
Lee’s withdrawal makes Carl DeMaio the odds-on favorite in this race. He is reportedly walking the district and working hard. The other candidate so far is attorney Bob Ilko.
District 1 remains the same — three candidates and little visible action; District 3 — Todd Gloria is working harder than anyone and is the consensus pick; District 7 is the shoot-out between TV personality Marti Emerald and long-time community activist and worker April Boling. Both are reported to be walking precincts and raising money. Emerald is considered the front-runner. I disagree. I think Boling’s long time involvement in the community and extensive knowledge of the issues and the district will prove to be the key — and winning — factor.
Mayor’s race still has Steve Francis all but in. Jerry Sanders is still my pick.
City Attorney’s race is still the most interesting in the city. In the interest of full disclosure I am working for Lee Burdick as her consultant so for now I will leave the race at that.
I look forward to your comments.
— JOHN KERN