I was born in Dallas, Texas. I spend most of my time in Dallas. It's a city that I've grown to both love and hate. If you were to ask me where I live, my automatic response would be to reply, "Dallas."
And, sadly, I'd be lying.
Actually, I live in Richardson. I live in the suburbs. While my town pretty much lives and dies according to how well the city of Dallas is doing, I am not legally a resident of Dallas, Texas. Hence, I cannot vote in the upcoming Dallas mayoral election.
However, I will be paying close attention to that election because a suburb is only as strong as the city that spawned it.
Traditionally, Dallas government has always been distinguished by being amazingly ineffective, corrupt, and just down right petty. If dealing with our municipal government -- held together, as it is, by several lengths of red tape -- doesn't turn one into a Libertarian than nothing will.
Every recent mayoral election, it seems, has brought out a host of candidates calling for reform. Sometimes, those reformers even end up getting elected. And, like clockwork, those reformer's early idealism always seems to quickly get squashed under the reality of Dallas politics. (Laura Miller, the current Mayor of Dallas, is just the latest example of this trend.)
In short, it's hard not to be cynical about Dallas politics.
Still, I have recently become enthusiastic about one candidate running to succeed Mayor Miller in 2007. That candidate is former Dallas Observer columnist and political novice Zac Crain. I've long admired Zac's reporting in the Observer. In fact, his articles were often the only reason for reading that particular tabloid. Whether he was writing about local politics or the local music scene, Crain's articles always showcased a probing intellect, a sharp wit, and an ability to see through the BS that, so often, passes for the news down here in Texas. These are three qualities that are currently in short supply at Dallas City Hall.
Seeing as I'm not legally a Dallas resident, my endorsement is pretty much useless but, for whatever it's worth, this blog officially endorses Zac Crain for Mayor of Dallas, Texas. Check out his campaign's website by clicking here.
On his site, Crain writes the following:
A few years ago, I ran across a passage in a novel* that leapt out at me. One of the characters in the book opined that good is dead; great is the only thing that matters. That idea has stuck with me ever since then, and I've lately been applying it to my thinking about Dallas, regarding where it is now, and where it needs to be.
In many respects, we have a fair city. In some, we have a good one. In others, Dallas is barely even decent. But on very few fronts — and some could argue none at all — is Dallas truly great. Overall, we, as a city, remain merely "good."
That, in a nutshell, is what this upcoming mayoral election is all about. And that is why, this site officially endorses Zac Crain for Mayor of Dallas, Texas.
