Tuesday, Sept. 09, 2003
Election Day, posted at 2:06 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com Election Day means no school, which provides me with the rest that I desperately needed last weekend but didn't get because I was pulling double-digit hour days at the restaurant. I slept in until around 8:45 (worked last night at the restaurant, then watched Letterman and a little bit of Conan), then mowed the lawn, and have been out and about running errands the rest of the day.The first errand was voting, and I didn't even have to wait in line. I cast my vote for O'Malley, Dixon, and Curran - all incumbents, all status quo. Usually I'm not a status quo sort of guy, but I was today. O'Malley was, for me, a slam dunk. I love the guy, think he's genuine, think he really wants to make Baltimore a better place. Plus, I think he's gotten results. Sure, I know that he's using Baltimore as a bit of a stepping stone to the state governorship and perhaps the U.S. Presidency, but I don't have a problem with him giving the city a decade of his service. In the few times I've seen him speak, I've been floored by his charisma, and something about him just makes me trust him - like when he confronts radio DJs, I knew he was the sort of leader that would stand up to things. His opponent, Ted Bundley, seems to be running primarily on a "The city is mostly African-American and I'm African-American, so I should be mayor" platform. I like the fact that he's a high school principal, but I'm good friends with a teacher who worked under him, and let's just say she didn't have good things to say. So O'Malley was my slam dunk choice.
As for Curran, he was endorsed by the City Paper and the Baltimore Sun, and both articles were convincing enough for him to get my vote. Despite the fact that James Butler holds up signs on the street and waves while I'm on my way to school, he didn't do anything to make me vote out the incumbent.
The City Council President Vote was the one that caused me the most deliberation. It's an important vote, as the winner is probably the city's next mayor, as O'Malley is probably going to run for governor in 2006. Dixon is the incumbent, and she got my vote, but not after lots of research. I like a lot about Harry Stokes - his engaging personality, his lack of fear of controversy - but ultimately it was that last quality that caused me not to vote for him. He seems to engage in a lot of race-baiting, and an article in the City Paper that portrayed him as the behind-the-scenes guy who felt it was necessary to get a black mayor elected soured me on him. Ironically, he later got the City Paper endorsement, but it still wasn't enough for me. I think he'd just cause gridlock with O'Malley, and I didn't want that, despite the fact that I do think he'd probably make a good mayor eventually.
As for Catherine Pugh, I liked her, um, signs (she's a very pretty lady) and a lot of what I heard about her - her passion, her caring. But the fact that she abstained from controversial votes during her tenure as a councilman soured me on her. Stokes was too confrontational, Pugh wasn't confrontational enough.
So Sheila Dixon was my choice. I think she has the most chance of getting stuff done with O'Malley, so she got my half-hearted vote.
******
I worked the floor alone last night at the restaurant. I was so excited, because we had a 12-person reservation, and I figured I'd make a shitload of money. Nope. First, none of them ordered alcohol. Second, only half of them ordered food. 12 people ended up spending $80, and I got a $14 tip. One of the women tipped me 9%, having the nerve to hand me $21 for her $19.11 bill and telling me to keep the change. Bitch. On the plus side, a 4-top spent $199 and tipped me $40. I ended up walking home with $58 or so, after paying out the baurista.
Tonight it's a day off, and a trip to the Orioles game for Bargain Night.