Sign Language

I consider myself to be a relatively informed voter.

Not only that, I vote.  Haven't missed an election for years -- not since that fall when, um, we went on vacation during election week and I forgot to get an absentee ballot I was performing undercover work deep behind the Iron Curtain.

No, I'm not a political wonk by any means, but I do try to keep myself on top of the local issues, and I generally have an idea who I'm going to vote for before I step into the booth.

One exception -- Allegheny County Judges.

Seriously, does anybody take the time to educate themselves about these folks?  If I don't, then I think it's a safe bet that a lot of others don't, either.

So how do we choose?  Name recognition, I guess.  And one of the most effective ways to build name recognition is with yard signs.  (Either that, or have the same last name as other, more famous local politicians, which is the surest bet into public office.)

But I use yard signs in a different, and I think more useful, manner. 

For five+ years now, I've been walking our mutts through our neighborhood on a nearly nightly basis.  We cover a lot of ground each night -- our walks last roughly 40 minutes or so.  And in that time, I've had the opportunity to interact with just about everybody in the neighborhood.

I have no great love of talking to strangers -- but I do believe in basic civility, so when I see someone in their yard, I'll wave or say hello.  The vast majority of people wave back.  Some, I've gotten to know a little bit, and we'll stop and b.s. for a minute or two.

But then, in every neighborhood, there are a handful of sour, bitter, nasty folks.  Some turn their backs to avoid contact, or grunt some sort of greeting, or just ignore my greeting entirely.

It's these folks who help me choose my candidates for Judge.  Invariably, the meanest, filthiest, nastiest people will fill their yard with political signs.  And I appreciate it, because it makes choosing (or un-choosing, I guess) candidates very simple.

The way I figure it, if I don't like somebody, then chances are I wouldn't like their candidate.  So take that, candidates McCarthy, Cusick, Borkowski and Mariani.  You may or may not be qualified, but you associate with jerks -- and for that, you lose the coveted Subdivided vote. 

Which, considering that I haven't voted for a candidate who won anything in eight years, probably doesn't matter a whole lot now that I think about it.

(Oh yes, I should also note that one judicial candidate that I DO support is Beth Lazzara, based solely on her groovy blue and pale yellow signs, which one local newspaper noted as looking a whole lot like a Belgian beer label.  Mmmm, Belgian beer....)

Comments

[Some Dumb Guy]

Wait ... Ben Gazzara is running for judge?