The Independent just posted its much-anticipated endorsement for mayor on the newspaper's website, declaring that after much deliberation, their choice is...wait for it...Hal Conklin.
That Editor-in-Chief and Independent co-founder Marianne Partridge, who makes the call on these matters, performed and oversaw "much research and interviewing" before picking Hal, as the editorial states, is not a matter than can be argued: the damn endorsement is 1,726 words long.
It's worth a read in full, not only as a hurrah for Hal, but also as a serious analysis of the mayor's race. No doubt a mind meld between Marianne and Nick Welsh, executive editor and staff Boswell, it examines the Democratic internecine warfare underpinning the race. the pluses and minuses of Cathy Murillo and Bendy White, discusses the "bright shiny object" of newcomer Angel Martinez and expresses "an abiding alarm" that Republican Frank Hotchkiss might win.
From the endorsement:
Conklin has the experience, knowledge, skill base, and temperament needed not only to run meetings but also to use the mayoral position as a bully pulpit. He is a bit of a preacher. As mayor, of course, he would be only one of seven votes. But the mayor sets the agenda, and a good mayor cobbles together the votes necessary for the City Council ​— ​no matter how fractious ​— ​to move forward.
We shall see.