Today we stand at the precipice of summer, staring into the valley of fall as warm blasts of hullabaloo and shenanigans blow into our faces.
Gone are the anticipation of Memorial Day and July Fourth holiday planning. The excitement of Little League baseball, summer outings and extended days outside is fading, morphing into memories with each passing moment. In their place are the last, reluctant hurrahs of barbecues, mini-vacations and beach parties that accompany Labor Day holiday weekend. They precede the beginning of the end of the year activities that, this year, include elections.
On the national level, obviously, the race for president of the United States featuring Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will capture most of the public’s ears and attention. The unfolding of this country’s future and character will be accompanied by heated rhetoric, vague policy statements and placating appeasements. Each candidate has their own set of unique faults that will give the opposition enough fuel to dump on the flames of political firebombing: Clinton has big banks and Benghazi while Trump has everything else.
Locally the campaign landscape won’t be nearly as treacherous but the battles for votes will, in all likelihood, be characterized by occasional volleys of innuendo, hyperbole and caustic rhetoric.
Some of the ammunition may be provided by news organizations that, in their efforts and diligence to research and reveal candidates and their backgrounds, pursue stories that may be unflattering. Not to be left behind, campaigns and their supporters will conduct their own opposition research and float narratives that make their guy seem palatable and the other less so. The election season always has the potential to be enlightening, entertaining, exhausting and disheartening.
In Chula Vista City Council candidates have been working hard to capture support in the city’s first district elections.
In District 3, former mayor Steve Padilla is running against Jason Paguio, an aide to Councilman Steve Miesen. These two had the luxury of sliding into the November election without having to survive a June primary election because they were the only eligible candidates seeking that office.
In District 4, former Chula Vista city councilman Rudy Ramirez will attempt to defeat retired Escondido fireman Mike Diaz. Ramirez dispatched one of his June opponents, Eduardo Reyes, in part by labelling him a carpetbagger. Diaz supporters applied the same label to Ramirez, who once ran for state Assembly.
All four candidates should be present at a forum beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, at Southwestern College.
The next time we all have a federally sanctioned day off will be Thanksgiving, when we can argue among friends and family the wisdom of our choices.
So long, carefree days of summer. You were good while you lasted.
