(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Top Comments: This Time Tomorrow Edition [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-09-18 I will preface this diary by saying up front I won’t be able to hang around for long, but I have a good reason… tomorrow is Preliminary Election Day in my city and as a precinct Warden, I must be at the polling place no later than 6am to get my tabulator set up, my Inspectors and Clerk settled and ready, and at the stroke of 7am gavel the polls open. Along with the other 13 Wardens, of course, as since 2020 we have a centralized polling place instead of 14 separate locations. What this means is that yours truly will be up at 4:45am to ensure time for a shower and some blessed caffeine. Our November election will elect members of our City Council, our School Committee, and a new Mayor, since our current made the decision not to stand for re-election. Tomorrow’s preliminary is necessary because we have three candidates for Mayor and only two may appear on the November ballot. Because all of these are officially “nonpartisan” elections, it’s not a Primary. However, we all know that nothing is actually nonpartisan and so we have one Republican and two Democrats running for Mayor. It is no surprise to anyone reading this that my vote tomorrow will go to one of the two Democrats. The Republican is a former City Councilor and School Committee member who most recently has run for both State Senate and Mayor (and lost decisively both times). What is historic for this election is that, for the first time, all mayoral candidates are women. While we’ve had a female Mayor before, she was not elected — the elected Mayor resigned to take another position elsewhere (ikr?!) and so the sitting City Council President assumed the Mayoral seat until the next election. It’s exciting knowing that whatever happens tomorrow and then in November, we will have our first elected female Mayor EVER. What makes this an interesting election for me is that I consider both Democratic candidates friends. I’ve known them both since joining our local City Democratic Committee in 2017 and not since high school when I had to vote for Prom King/Queen have I had to look at a ballot and choose one friend over another. Yes I have a definite preference based on qualifications, experience and approach to the issues most affecting our city, but I know that either will make a fantastic Mayor. The general consensus based on city voting patterns is that the Republican will take 30-40% of the vote, meaning we’ll likely have one of my friends facing off against her in November. Honestly, I’m hoping for that, because otherwise many of my fellow Dems find ourselves on uncharacteristically “opposite” sides and it would be good to be able to gather ourselves behind one candidate. Our City Council races this year are going to be wild (11 candidates for 4 at-large seats, of which 5 are registered Democrats) and being able to focus there will be important. So that’s why I’ll be seeking my pillow shortly after this posts. If I’m conscious tomorrow evening when cohenzee’s diary posts I’ll let you know how it all went! Please peruse tonight’s Tops and then chat about all the things in the comments! [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/18/2194088/-Top-Comments-This-Time-Tomorrow-Edition Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/