The Star's Sloppy Endorsements

I was early to make my endorsements during this cycle because. as I wrote then, "I'd hate for anyone to think that the Star's analysis influences me . . ." At the time I wrote that, though, I had no idea how sloppy the Star would be.

I'm not complaining about endorsing candidates other than the ones I support. I'm complaining of my disappointment with their ability to get facts straight and arguments lined up correctly. This season, the Star has erased its own credibility.

In the Sheriff's race, the Star had nice things to say about my favorite candidate, John Bullard, but wound up endorsing Mike Sharp. That's fine with me - reasonable minds can differ as to who is the superior candidate. But what made their endorsement laughable was their mistaken reasoning - the headline of their endorsement noted "Sheriff jobs require experience, solid administrative skills" and the text of their endorsement claimed "Mike Sharp has impressive credentials for the sheriff’s job, given his combination of service with the Kansas City Police Department and years of experience as a businessman". That all sounds pretty reasonable, but Mike Sharp has hardly any relevant experience! What happened was that the Star took at face value Sharp's claim that he has twenty something years of experience as a reserve officer, but, in fact, that's apples compared to oranges. That's like claiming that a kid who received a pair of pilot's wings on his or her first plane trip a dozen years ago has 12 years of experience as a pilot. It's absolutely fine to endorse Mike Sharp if you like him personally, or you think he will bring fresh perspective, or whatever, but it's just plain sloppy and embarrassing to endorse him because he has experience. He doesn't, and the Star should have realized that.

As sloppy as that endorsement was, though, they really shocked me with their endorsement of Jeff Harris - even when we agree that Jeff Harris is the best candidate! Clearly they reached the right result, but they gave him an edge "based on his leadership role [in the General Assembly] and prosecutorial experience". There are two things wrong with that statement - in an Attorney General race, prosecutorial experience is only important for those who do not know what the AG's office really does, and, second, Jeff Harris doesn't really have much irrelevant prosecutorial experience. Instead, Jeff Harris has experience as a division leader in the Attorney General's office itself - much better, and much more relevant!

Over the past several years, political insiders have been chattering about how fewer and fewer people pay attention to the Star's endorsements. Is it because of the rise of blogs, is it because of declining circulation, or some other reason?

I suspect the reason fewer people are paying attention to the Star's endorsements is because the Star is not paying attention when they are making them.

Gone Mild Endorsements for August 2008

Two weeks from today, the primary season of 2008 will be completed. The Star will start issuing its endorsements this week, so I thought I would beat them to the punch with my own. I'd hate for anyone to think that the Star's analysis influences me . . .

I'm tempted to put in a cautionary note on the difference between endorsements and predictions. Sometimes, the better candidate doesn't really stand much of a chance, but, in this cycle, I'm feeling pretty confident that each of my favorite candidates will win his or her respective race, so these are both predictions and endorsements.

In order of the ballot:

FOR GOVERNOR
Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon - By no means is Jay Nixon my favorite Democrat, but he's the best candidate in the governor's race by a long shot. He has the ability to win the general, and the experience to be successful in the Governor's Mansion.

FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
Sam Page - Sam Page may be one of the nicest people I've met in politics, and his sincere desire to serve the public as our Lieutenant Governor is exceeded only by his qualifications. He should win the primary easily, and then the real race begins. Look for Sam Page to oust Peter "Crooked Cash" Kinder from the office of Lieutenant Governor.

FOR SECRETARY OF STATE
Robin Carnahan - She's served us well, and will win the general in November, too.

FOR STATE TREASURER
Clint Zweifel - This is going to be an interesting race. I like Andria Simckes a lot, but Clint has the edge in qualifications and savvyness. Either would be great in the office, but Clint has had a sharper campaign team.

FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL
Jeff Harris - No surprise here for regular readers. Jeff has experience, integrity, and a willingness to outwork his opponents. As a result, he has better poll numbers without selling his soul through unethical campaign finance shenanigans. Jeff is just plain solid - a great guy with a good sense of humor and an outstanding sense of himself. If you want to see Missouri's Attorney General's office function as one of the best and most ethical AG offices in the entire nation, then vote for Jeff Harris.

FOR U.S.REPRESENTATIVE
5th District: Emanuel Cleaver, II - He's had a couple surprisingly bad votes (favoring the credit card companies over his constituents was particularly egregious), but Emanuel Cleaver is one of our best, most dedicated public servants. I hope he serves a long time.

FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
40th District: John Patrick Burnett - This is not my district, but I cannot understand why Rizzo would try to unseat John Burnett. John is smart, hardworking and effective. He deserves to retain his seat.

44th District: Jason Kander - This comes as no surprise - I've admired Jason as a person of integrity and serious purpose since I met him before he went to Afghanistan. When I started this campaign, I thought he was a great candidate running against two good candidates. I haven't changed my feeling one iota - Jason's integrity and class have proven to be exactly as I thought they would be. Less importantly, but still persuasive, is the fact that he is precisely the kind of straight-shooting, dependable, competent, hard-working, thoughtful leader who will stand out in the legislature. He doesn't waffle, he doesn't flinch, he doesn't whine. He will get things done in Jefferson City, and he will be a spark for the entire Democratic team in our Capital.

FOR PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
Jim Kanatzar - Jim is a fine prosecutor, and will continue to serve us effectively.

FOR SHERIFF
John Bullard, Jr. - John Bullard is simply the kind of guy you want in the Sheriff's office. Law enforcement is what he thinks about when he wakes up, and he stays on point all day long. He has great plans to increase cooperation among the local departments, and he has the credibility to pull it off. He will also make the Sheriff's office more accessible and visible.

DEMOCRATIC COUNTY COMMITTEEMEN
8th Ward, Stephen Bough - Stephen Bough is fair-minded, has solid values, and is the hardest working politico in Kansas City. We disagree often enough that I know my endorsement isn't solely due to lockstep agreement - he's just a great volunteer, and belongs on the County committee.

DEMOCRATIC COUNTY COMMITTEEWOMEN
8th Ward, Mary Frances Weir - Mary is a solid Democrat with a solid grounding in social justice. In 2006, she received the prestigious Tiera Farrow Community Award from the UMKC Association of Women Law Students for her work on behalf of victims of domestic violence.

Meeting John Bullard, Candidate for Jackson County Sheriff

A while back, I posted "Can I Get a Little Help?", seeking input on what the Jackson County Sheriff does and which candidate would be best. 3 weeks later, having read up on the candidates and meeting one of them, I'm on board with John Bullard.

I met John for lunch on Friday, along with my friend Kanga. John reminds me of Andy Sipowicz cleaned up and with more hair. John is the model "good cop" - polite, modest, smart, informed and pleasant. Even with assurances that I wouldn't write about his response, he had nothing bad to say about his opponents, preferring, instead, to talk about what he would do in office. (Darn him!)

John Bullard is well-prepared to move the Jackson County Sheriff's Department forward. He alone has the credentials among real law enforcement professionals to build cooperation among the many law enforcement agencies in Jackson County. (Some of the other candidates puff up their resumes by listing "weekend warrior" reserve service, but John is the genuine article.) He has ambitious plans to seek Homeland Security money for upgrades to equipment and communications. He plans to open satellite offices to increase accessibility (Do you know where the Sheriff's office is? Could you get yourself out to Lake Jacomo by bus?) and visibility.

It's been fun but kind of frightening to learn about the Sheriff's Department and the candidates who seek to run it. We are blessed with a few good candidates, but one of them stands out because of his professionalism, experience, and vision. That candidate is John Bullard, and I'm looking forward to voting for him in the primary and again in the general election.