I should probably have 'blogged about this last week, before it began being reported in bits and pieces:
After several successful alliances on local issues, the Pima County Libertarian Party asked John Kromko to run for mayor, on their ticket. This was going to happen, until the day of the deadline, when Kromko gathered his "Water Users' Bill of Rights" supporters who, for bizzare reasons, didn't like the idea. In an act of cowardice, Kromko decided against running as a Libertarian.
Someone from the Green Party supposedly told Kromko that Dave Croteau would withdraw from the race if Kromko decided to run as a Green. (What the difference is between running as a Green and running as a Libertarian, from the perspective of the Enough! crowd, is beyond me.) What a slap in the face to Dave Ewoldt and the rest who are working to put together a respectable campaign for Croteau!
What I didn't know until I picked up the paper today is that Kromko actually filed to run as a Green, and subsequently withdrew due to lack of funds. If he'd had enough moxie to run as a Libertarian, he'd be in the race--the Libertarians have had trouble finding candidates this cycle--and would have bully pulpit from which to promote his initiative. (He was also going to take Clean Elections money, so the official excuse doesn't make any sense.)
Apparently, John Kromko's courage has gone the way of his mojo. Perhaps it's time for him to retire. Perhaps this is retirement.
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1 comment:
Hi Ben... Good post, but I'd like to correct one thing that is showing up in some of the local political blogs, and one other thing that is probably just a misperception.
The correction is that the Green Party did not approach Kromko, he approached the Green Party, supposedly at the suggestion of one of his supporters. The Pima Greens were completely suprised at Kromko's decision.
As you correctly surmised, Kromko's political views could easily fit in with either the Libertarians or the Greens. Both parties offer solutions to the Enough! crowd.
The misperception is that Croteau decided he would withdraw if Kromko ran. This was merely one of about half a dozen scenarios that were discussed over a long weekend of political strategizing between Kromko and the Croteau campaign. The bottom line for both the Pima Greens and Croteau's campaign staff was what would be best for both advancing the Ten Key Values of the Green Party, and what would be best for creating a sustainable future for Tucson.
I'll be doing a complete writeup on these events on the Croteau Campaign blog within the next day or two.
The bottom line is that Mayor Walkup needs to be replaced by someone who is offering a viable solution, based on a realistic vision, that will keep Tucson from looking and feeling just like Phoenix.
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