Endorsements everywhere
The Simkins PAC's endorsements arrived in the mail today.
Among the more notable picks: Susan Bray for Superior Court judge, Tom Jarrell for District Court judge, nine of the 11 city bonds (but not the swim center or city building repairs), and the straight Democratic ticket for all partisan races, presumably meaning Blanks over Barnes for sheriff.
The PAC's recommendations, which traditionally have wielded strong influence in predominantly black precincts:
Chief Justice, N.C. Supreme Court: Sarah Parker.
Associate Justice, N.C. Supreme Court: Robin Hudson, Partricia Timmons-Goodson and Mark Martin.
N.C. Court of Appeals: Robert Hunter, Linda Stephens.
Superior Court Judge, District 18C: Susan Bray.
District Court Judge, District 18: Tom Jarrell.
City bonds: Yes votes for: fire stations, libraries, War Memorial Auditorium, Neighborhood Redvelopment, Inernationsl Civil Rights Center and Museum, economic development, Greensboro Historical Museum, Parks & Recreation and War Memorial Stadium renovations.
The PAC apparently was not moved by swim center proponents' argument that one of thr facility's major pluses would be swimming instruction for "inner-city" youth.
Interestingly, in the very tight to call race between Bray and Albright, Albright has not fared well in local endorsements.
The Carolina Peacemaker, the Rhino and Yes! Weekly all have gone with Bray.
Comments (2)
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Allen, how much influence do you think the Simpkins PAC actually has? Obviously, it's reflecting--in endorsing a straight Democratic ticket, e.g.--what its constituency would already vote overwhelmingly. But say it endorsed one Republican in a race nobody knew a whole lot about. If we assume a normative 90/10 D/R split in the group getting the mailing, would the vote shift to 80/20, 50/50, 10/90? Obviously you don't know exactly, but being on the outside, I've never had a clear sense at all of how, when, and to what extent their actual endorsments affect voting patterns.
Posted on November 5, 2006 12:29 AM
Brian, I would say it's formidable; the vote in the community doesn't always reflect every recommendation, but when you break down the precinct-by-precinct results, the predominantly black precincts follow the PAC's lead more often than not.
Posted on November 5, 2006 8:31 AM