If any local candidate sought my advice, and they sometimes do, the first thing I’d tell them is not to go anywhere near the Daily Herald. Though I like Jim Fuller, their editorial board – the ones who do the endorsements – are either incredibly biased or follow some sort of unfathomably random logic string.
And as I pointed out in a previous column, if you do manage to get endorsed by them in a tight race, a loss is a virtual lock.
Here’s what I’m talking about. 18th District County Board incumbent Drew Frasz just sat for his DH endorsement hearing and the article that reporter Lenore Adkins managed to come out of it with is utterly astonishing.
Up to this point, we haven’t heard hide nor hair from Kerri Branson, Frasz’s Democratic opponent. She hasn’t attended a single county board meeting. She hasn’t shown up to a single Forest Preserve board meeting. And no one’s seen a single yard sign.
In fact, it was a shock she showed up for the DH interview at all.
Of course, Frasz came in prepared with all sorts of documentation about what he’s managed to accomplish for his district while Ms. Branson basically just sat there. She even told the DH that she “might” be able to attend board meetings after the end of the year.
Might?
Ms. Branson also told the DH she was running because she wanted to see what was going on at the county!
And what does the DH write? That the two candidates disagree on the prospect of giving non-union county employees raises! They actually did their best to make Branson appear to be a credible candidate. This makes Adkins either incompetent, not too smart, biased, or D, all of the above.
That said, county board member T. R. Smith and I are planning to work for Ms. Branson (a former Playboy model) because, as we put it, he wants to sit next to her and she’s a lot more fun to look at than Drew Frasz. Come to think of it, I’m surprised the DH didn’t use that logic – or maybe they did!
I had the pleasure (?) of being interviewed (over the phone) by Lenore a few years back. To say I found the experience disappointing is like calling the Sistine Chapel, “nice.” She was eating during the interview (!) and her tone of voice made her sound as enthusiastic as a colonoscopy patient.
As for the endorsements, they’re good for entertainment value, but not much more. An acquaintance of mine doesn’t refer to the DH as the Völkischer Beobachter for nothing.