Candidates Come & Go On Short Notice

Signature day came and went yesterday with little fanfare. Politicians of all stripes re-invaded Madison to file the requisite number of signatures on petitions to get on the fall ballot... or they didn't.  In every cycle there are people who make noise about running and get some free publicity then mysteriously fail to actually file.  Such is the case in both the 67th and 68th Assembly districts where a Democrat in one and a Republican in the other aren't really candidates after all. 

In the 67th (Chippewa and Dunn counties, Jeff Wood (I) not running) a different Democrat filed papers and so did six Republicans.  (Six? Really?  Are there that many shades of wing-nut that the county parties couldn't narrow it down?)  The Democrat is CF city council member C.W. King who won't know his November opponent 'til the six Repubs finish their steel cage death match in the Sept. 14 primary.  In the 68th (Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties) there won't be a GOP primary after all, so Chippewa County Busybody Clerk Kathy Bernier now has a clear shot at incumbent Kristen Dexter.  If the race were a measure of how many people you HAVEN'T pissed off in your career, Dexter would sail to victory.  But that assumes Bernier's courthouse carnage comes back to bite her and that's no guarantee.  Maybe someone should give former Chippewa County Administrator Bill Reynolds a call?

The deadline for those nominating papers also brought a surprise in the 7th CD where Julie Lassa will not face a primary challenge from the guy who used to be a Texas Republican... but WILL face a primary challenge from some other guy who filed at the last minute.  Don Raihala of Superior looks to be a real estate agent in the Superior area and has written a number of stories for websites. More importantly, he seems to be vehemently opposed to the proposed High Speed Rail project that is planned to end in both Duluth and Superior.  Since that's a line that would run through the district of the chairman of the Appropriations committee, Dave Obey, and the district of the chairman of the Transportation committee, Jim Oberstar, one can't help but conjure up the fantasy sequence where Mr. Raihala wakes up next to a horse's head!

Now that we have a final list of who's really on the ballot, let the real campaign begin.  We'll report on more of the area races in the weeks to come.  There are some interesting Assembly races in places like Hudson and Medford and Rice Lake we'll follow.  Your input on candidates and your take on the "flavor" of your local races is also welcome.