Why put up with this crap?
Let's say you've been working for the Assembly for a dozen years. You've been in the community and you've been to Sacramento. You are actually in a position of respect and doing a good job.
I think there are lots of folks in that position that think "hey, I can do this!" One such case is Stuart Waldman, the longtime Valley staffer who is planning on running for the Assembly in 2008. If I were him I would get out now!!
My interactions with Stuart have been limited, but he has been around for a long time. He seems like a good Democratic activist type. He's got some heft compared to his current boss, being more akin to Hugsberg in personality and the cut of his jib.
Why cut and run? Because of idiots such as those at the Mayor Sam blog who say things like "Stuart...yuck" and call him a "greaseball." This is pervasive around the Valley when people talk about Stuart. People who have watched him put in the overtime hours for over a decade (both in his job and volunteering) are somehow resentful at the fact that he's now a frontrunner for the Assembly.
Let's face it. In 2002 he was supposed to run but got pushed out by two guys who weren't even from the district. Throughout the Valley (San Fernando and San Gabriel) there are plenty of examples of folks who never put in the time that Stuart has - yet people don't give them half the grief. So, Stuart, unless you've got some really thick skin (or a thick head, or both) get the hell out while you still can!!! You're a nice guy, but for some reason the net-roots have it out for you, and they're not going to get any nicer.
2 comments:
Another great Left of 818 post.
I think Stuart is a reasonably bright and apparently hard-working guy. His activism is laudible to the extent that it's authentic: when it benefits causes important to the SFV community and the party, it's great. Though such selfless actions seem rare in Stuart's case.
Waldman has the feel of an overtly ambitious party hack rather than a concerned citizen. Of course, this makes him no different than the two guys before him, or a host of politicos partly running this state, but in the 21st century world where the blogosphere allows regular people like us to criticize public figures, Waldman is vulnerable. Back when Hertzberg (and to a less extent, Levine) was running for office for the first time in the SFV, the blogosphere wasn't a factor.
Average citizens want their politicians to come to public life somewhat reluctantly. We want to believe that our leaders worked hard in the private sector doing something that mattered before jumping into politics. We're turned off by professional politicos that seem to covet office for no reason other than to enjoy the limelight. Waldman's transparency as a hack is the reason he's taking a beating in the blogosphere.
That's not to say that he can't win office! Voters are lazy and the PAC money he can gather will be powerful. The criticism simply means the post is correct - he's going to need a thick skin to get through any campaign, win or lose.
I like this Left of 818. Good to have a place for thoughtful discussion regarding San Fernando Valley politics and beyond.
I'm chiming in with 'west valley progressive' who says, "Waldman has the feel of an overtly ambitious party hack rather than a concerned citizen." He's not a bad guy. He just doesn't seem like he cares about anything but power. I guess being passed over as much as he has been makes him kind of jaded.
Extending term limits will benfit the functioning of the state legislature by giving talented people time to develop rather than angling for their next job. And in Lloyd Levine's district, an opportunity for a "concerned citizen' to emerge to replace him.
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