Well honey bunch, here we are in late July – the Dog Days as people like to call them – and summer has been quite summery. We’ve all been simmering not so much in a heat wave, but a humidity wave. Things in the Cobina homestead have been feeling the dampness. Everything in the domicile is damp, everything feels a bit wilted, and everything seems to indicate it’s gonna stay that way for a while. Don’t git me wrong, Cobina ain’t complaining. The cold weather will be with us before yew know it. And effen yew don’t think so, surfing through the channels the other day and what to my wonderin’ eyes should appear but Hallmark Channel’s Christmas in July. That will either git you in a good mood, or put you into the thoughts of the dank, cold days ahead. I leave it to yew.
Here in the Asylum by the Sea, July means the parties are on the cusp of presenting their slates for the fall mayoral race. The Dems’ potential for a three-way race just took a nosedive with the announcement by Ed O’Brien’s campaign he’s gonna nix the primary route and go directly to the general election on Nov. 2.
According to the announcement, the reason for the decision was based on his discussions with John and Jane Q. and them tellin’ him they don’t like politics as usual. But the real reason was probably in the next paragraph. He formed a team of candidates, and there’s a potential to lose them effen one goes the primary route. Remember, primaries have a way of splitting people up. One candidate from one slate might hafta run with candidates from t’other. That’s the nature of it.
There’s also another reason, and Cobina is jest speculating. Putting on a primary means spending many kopecks – kopecks that would be better served in a gen’ral election. Methinks Ed wants to put all his eggs in that basket, and not hafta spread them out over two votes. Again, that’s only me thinkin’ out loud.
There’s another benefit, though. He don’t hafta put people out to sign petitions. By not askin’ for a primary the whole petition thing is avoided. So, no three-way primary, but maybe a three-way mayoral race – that’s what it’s lookin’ like.
Meanwhile, Sammy Bluejay is tellin’ me that whilst the nomination of the mayor is perty much a safe bet, there will be one candidate out on the pavement with friends lookin’ to primary – John Lewis. Lewis told people Sammy knows that he’s in it for the long haul, and will work for the primary. Sooooo, don’t be surprised effen yew see petitioners out looking for signatures in a very short while.
What should be interesting in this go-round is who is contributing toward which campaign. The mayor is gonna have the majority of the Town Committee on her side, whilst the others are gonna hafta find their own donors. That’s the nature of the beast. But, the DTC ain’t been know for havin’ a whole lotta money in its coffers, so one wonders where herronner’s war chest is gonna come from.
Same for the other candidates, who contributes will be a great indicator of where individuals stand as we get toward the fall.
Sammy also came up with his own take on the whole Lewis-O’Brien isshew. Remember, Lewis was O’Brien’s executive assistant. To a certain extent they’d be fishin’ for votes outta the same pond. By O’Brien not primarying, he accomplishes two things: no confrontation with his erstwhile friend, and not splitting up the vote amongst them. That could mean those who would vote for Lewis in the primary could potentially vote for O’Brien in the general election, assuming Lewis is unsuccessful, and there’s no hard feelings….at least not many. Somebody will be mad at someone for something. It’s the way things go.
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Nelly Nuthatch was guffawing t’other day. It seems boards and commishes in this berg can’t seem to git things right – or at least make decisions in setch a way that there ain’t an uproar. Last month it was the ZBA or Zoning Board of Appeals, who gave a variance for a Shingle Hill Road projeck that is now the subjeck of a lawsuit. The hearing brought out more than 200 people to the Italian-American Club, which was designated the venue when soooo many showed up.
Most of the people spoke against the plan, and the ZBA jest allowed the variance. Hence, the lawsuit. The major sticking pernt seems to be density – as it usually is. Does the plan conform to the neighborhood? Well, effen it did there would be no need or a variance. So, now the thing will be mired in the courts, and the neighbors are convinced nobody out there is listening or wants to listen.
Then there’s the letter sent by the developer of the property directly across the street from the Voice office on the Boston Post Road. Evidently, that developer had all her i’s and t’s done correckly and was rejected. She is now venting her frustration by way of a letter in this week’s papyrus. It seems the P&Z has its own ideas what and where things should go, and there is allusion to the former Lowe’s and Sam’s Club jest across the city line in Orange.
Suffice it to say that said developer things what the commish thinks it wants or not, they should rule on what is presented. Effen things are legal and proper, what’s the pernt if it’s in a commercial zone. Commerce is commerce, no sense waitin’ for what might not happen.
The letter is an interesting read, and a lament that we’ve heard in this berg for many, many moons. Yew and I have been passing these missives along for more than 50 years, Felicia, and this old refrain keeps playing over and over again.
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Effen yew thought I’d forgot about the GOP in the fall campaign, I didn’t. I jest wanted to split things up before yore eyes rolled to the back of yer head. While Cobina don’t know for sure, the talk of a secret candidate coming to the fore as we get to the eleventh hour seems less and less true. Perhaps the leaders of the party were talking to someone who was considering it, and they were attempting to put some friendly pressure thereon. Who knows?
But right now, it looks like Barry Lee Cohen is gonna be the standard-bearer for the GOP, and that is gonna be and interesting ride. Republicans don’t rally around candidates the way Demmies do, and there are some who don’t like Cohen. He doesn’t suffer fools gladly, or at all; and he usually speaks his mind, which really ticks people off.
So, barring something really outta left field, Cohen will git the nod, and the GOP will have its candidate for November. What’ll be interesting is the slate put together and who is on it. The GOP has put together some good slates over the last decade only to be steamrolled in the election. Those good candidates are then flattened with the party, and we don’t hear much from them again. That’s too bad.
Cobina can’t wait until the debates. Both Cohen and Rossi can git snarky in their own ways. That is something to look forward to in the long run. In fact, if Lewis wins, he can be a purveyor of snark as well. We like that.
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The return of the Savin Rock festival after about four years of nothing is a good thing. It ain’t that it’s the greatest festival in the world, but it is a celebration of our shoreline community. And, the fack that it celebrates all facets of our little corner of the world is a good thing. It’s great to see it back. From the way the kick-off celebration brought hundreds out a few weeks ago, I won’t be surprised effen tens of thousands come out the way the used to do years ago.
With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this time till next, mitt luff und kizzez,