Good day and welcome to DKos Asheville. This is the weekly DKos Asheville open thread for Saturday October 11th. We try to get together every weekend to share with everyone what we're all up to in Western North Carolina and beyond. We hope this group serves to invigorate us locally and regionally here on Daily Kos, building on the sense of community that's grown through our online engagement. DKos Asheville can give us all a better sense of connection, a better understanding of who we stand with, work with, and share with. We hope this community can help leverage our orange passion for progressive politics to elect more and better Democrats.
Asheville and all of Western North Carolina are wonderful places to visit. We have a powerful progressive presence, both cultural and political, and for the most part everyone is really nice. And the views are breathtaking. If you've never been here, we promise you'll love it.
Drop over the fold for a place to talk about stuff.
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Randall is out working the LEAF festival today, and he asked me to write a diary for today's open thread. So, with thoughts of early voting dancing in our heads ...
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For those of you who might find them helpful, here are my recommendations at the moment. I don't expect them to change. These reflect the choices on ballots G004 and G006 here in Buncombe County; but many of these will be on all North Carolina ballots.
Don't forget, we do not have a straight-ticket option this year; you must fill in the circle for each contest in which you have a preference.
If a Democratic candidate is running unopposed, vote for them anyway. A strong show of support can be helpful in a lot of ways.
As previously discussed, download a sample ballot for your precinct, fill it out ahead of time, and put it where you will remember to take it with you when you go vote.
https://www.ncsbe.gov/...
Oh, and to enhance the experience, take a friend with you (and make a copy of your sample ballot for them).
- For all partisan contests, I recommend voting for the Democratic candidate.
- Board of County Commissioners District 3 - there is no Democratic candidate in this race; however I recommend voting for the unaffiliated candidate - Nancy Waldrop
- NC Supreme Court Chief Justice - both candidates are conservatives, and neither, in my view, deserves our vote. Of the two, Mark Martin is probably more moderate; so that may be something to consider. However, my plan at the moment is to skip that one.
- NC Supreme Court Associate Justice - Sam J. Ervin IV
- NC Supreme Court Associate Justice - Robin Hudson
- NC Supreme Court Associate Justice - Cheri Beasley
- NC Court of Appeals Judge - there are 19 candidates and you can only vote for one. To avoid splitting the vote and allowing a conservative to win, I think we should rally around one candidate. And that one is John S. Arrowood. Arrowood has the support of the AFL-CIO, North Carolina Association of Educators, Equality North Carolina, NC NOW National Organization for Women PAC, and the Durham People's Alliance. There are other good candidates, notably Keischa Lovelace; but again, we don't want to split our vote and allow a conservative to win this seat. So my recommendation here is John S. Arrowood.
- NC Court of Appeals Judge - Lucy Inman
- NC Court of Appeals Judge - Donna Stroud
- NC Court of Appeals Judge - Mark Davis
- NC District Court Judge District 28 - J. Matthew Martin
- NC District Court Judge District 28 - Susan Dotson-Smith
- NC District Court Judge District 28 - Julie M. Kepple
- NC District Court Judge District 28 - Ward D. Scott
- NC District Court Judge District 28 - Patricia Kaufmann Young
- Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor - you can vote for two candidates, but the only recommendation I'm making is William Hamilton
- County Board of Education - Enka District - Max Queen
- County Board of Education - Erwin District - Pat Bryant
- County Board of Education - Reynolds District - Cindy McMahon
- NC Constitutional Amendment - Against
The constitutional amendment is an interesting proposal; briefly, it would allow defendants to waive their right to a jury trial. Most states allow defendants to waive their right; however, the proposal for North Carolina apparently differs in significant ways from those of most other states. I have seen some progressives choose not to make a recommendation, and others recommending voting against the amendment. Of concern is that defendants who do not have the resources for a high level of representation might be open to coercion from over-zealous prosecutors, and find their future in the hands of just one person. And given that there does not appear to have been much of a public debate on this issue, it seems reasonable to suggest that perhaps this amendment should be voted down for now.
So those are my recommendations, offered for whatever benefit they may be. It is of course reasonable that there may be differences of opinion on some of these choices. Admittedly, I am not well acquainted with the positions, records, etc, of any of these candidates. Nor did I spend an inordinate amount of time doing my research. However, I do feel that these are good choices.
And finally, I would like to reiterate how important it is to reelect Kay Hagan. I know a lot of progressives have been disappointed with her record. But this is not a vote of confidence regarding the record of Senator Hagan; rather, this is a decision as to whether you feel our state is best represented in the United States Senate by Kay Hagan or by Thom Tillis. It is, in my view, an extremely clear-cut choice. Perhaps even more than that, your vote should be a repudiation of all that Thom Tillis stands for.
As a reminder, early voting begins Thursday, October 23rd, and ends Saturday, November 1st at 1:00. Mark your calendar!
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For those of you who, like me, missed SteelerGrrl's rec-listed diary, Diary of a Canvassing Virgin, earlier this week, you can read it here. I just read it, and it's wonderful. Highly recommended!
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Enjoy your day!
Good day gentle readers! I am performing all weekend at the wonderful LEAF Festival in beautiful Black Mountain. It is a delightful four day music, arts and healing festival that brings thousands to Lake Eden for camping and peaceful fun. The festival has a fall and spring edition each year. This will be my seventh consecutive year there. Below is an example of the gorgeous views you see at every turn.
Great music lineup this year. I'm looking froward to Sunday afternoon with Bela Flek and Abigail Washburn. Have a great weekend everyone and thanks so much for doing this diary today David! Best wishes, randallt