There's a Mayor Race Going On in Tempe

Did you know that there is a mayor race coming soon. March 13th is the primary and May 15th is the general election.

In politics, the national elections take so much of the oxygen. For good reasons, the decisions in Washington can have profound affects on our lives. So many people died in Iraq because we decided to embark on a preemptive war. More of our dollars go to the federal government than the states. More of the political power has been centralized.

But local elections do matter, at least I think they do, at least I hope they do. I really want to get more locally focused. Cities matter - a lot. So much of what matters, matters at the individual, family and local level. There's something I can do to make a difference, surely.

And we actually have access to local leaders. I've met (briefly) Hugh Hallman. Our mayors our busy, but they are accessible.

My main issue is of the three candidates running for mayor, who the heck would really be the best person for the job? Who should I put my support behind?

Really, does it matter? I'm already committed to volunteering for the Mark Mitchell campaign - ever so slightly, but I'm not committed to vote for him, yet.

Today, I went to his office, talked with a couple of the volunteers, got talked into the idea of just helping him get information about voters, giving Mitchell a chance to make his case. That's something I can get behind.

My suspicion is all three candidates are high quality people. Which ones have the vision I am looking for? We'll see, I'll keep you posted.