Before the circus began, I commented to an acquaintance that I had to give Democrats credit in one area. They are nothing if not heavily into symbolism, even when it's self-deprecating.
After receiving an appreciation gift which looked like a paperweight, outgoing Chairman Bobby Kahn then received two plane tickets. Mr. Kahn was gracious enough to finish the joke by asking "is it true one of them's one way".
The hall was SRO and I heard someone comment it was the highest turnout in years. This may have presented a problem for Michael Thurmond and Doug Stoner. The two vertically challenged politicians stood near the rear and were asked by a bystander if there was a height requirement for the Vice Chair's race.
I would go into the gory details of what happened during the next three hours but I just stopped the bleeding in my eyes and I don't want to relapse. Suffer it to say the procedure is a candidate is nominated and then there's a speech and then there's another speech and then there's another speech. Then they get to move to the next candidate. Wash, rinse, repeat. Through five candidates. As we approached the end I asked Jon Flack, " JESUS GAWD PLEASE TELL ME THEY DON'T GET TO TALK BETWEEN EVERY BALLOT!'
Voting took four rounds with a Survivor-style elimination of the lowest vote getter. First, Carol Jackson bit the dust. Then freakishly rambunctious Reverend Jim Nelson. Finally, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin's number one gal Hattie Dorsey was eliminated leaving the two horses everyone came to see.
Every vote between Jane Kidd and Mike Berlon was close but with each successive ballot Kidd pulled closer and finally led. In the end, I believe Berlon suffered a gender double whammy. A source told me it was the belief the Dorsey bloc wanted a woman chair. Also the weird bylaws require the chair and the first vice-chair to be different gender. With two strong male candidates in the first vice-chair race, Berlon may have been doomed before the final ballot was cast.
Final Vote: Kidd - 138, Berlon 101
So, congratulations Jane Kidd. Now how about working on some bylaws requiring these things to either have shorter time limits or an open bar. And to those of you who provided a tail gate version of the latter, many thanks.
P.S. I really want to be Jim Galloway when I grow up. My envy grew three times in one day as people kept coming up to him and whispering in his ear. Oh the tales he must hear.
4 comments:
I hope she finds a spine. She'd be the first Dem in the state to have one.
A political party that allows Denise Majette to be its candidate for US Senate is going to takes years to fix. And the endless fight between Cox and Fat B... Taylor was priceless.
Hey Jane, how about pushing for tough ethics legislation and oversight? The Dem's could and should have done so when they ran the show...for 130+ years. Start there and you might work out OK.
Have you gone mad, man? You want to be Jim Galloway? Do you want to look like him? Do you want to have the Cox-required SOUL REDUCTION SURGERY at Crawford Long Hospital? No, a blogger's life for thee!
Not having anything of substance to add, i will submit that I too dislike Denise Majette.
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