Chris Bell
We come to the end of this week of Mayoral candidate interviews. I still have one more to go, which will run on Monday, and I will have one more (non-Mayoral) interview to run after that. Today we have Chris Bell, who is making his second run for Mayor; he finished third in a race against then-Mayor Lee Brown and CM Orlando Sanchez in 2001. Bell has worn many hats in public service, serving as At Large Council member from 1997 to 2001 and as Congressman in what was then CD25 from 2004 to 2006. He was also the Democratic nominee for Governor in 2006. A former TV and radio news reporter and anchor, Bell is an attorney and has served on numerous national and community boards, in addition to being a popular emcee and host of political events. Here’s the interview:
You can see all of my interviews as well as finance reports and other information on candidates on my 2015 Election page.
This interview was worth the listen just to hear the phrase “apps and whatnot” at 14:57.
It looks like Bell might be peaking at the right time. And what’s Kris Banks so worried about re: Turner (his ad hominem against Bell in your post about Turner’s questionable business affairs)?
Is a runoff with Bell a scary thing to the Turner camp?
Turner is clearly concerned about a runoff against Bell.
In a runoff against Adrian, Turner can garner conservative white support. Even though Bell is probably the most progressive candidate in the race, Turner is going to have one hell of a time convincing older conservatives to vote for a black guy over a white guy. Republicans would likely hold their noses and vote for the guy that looks like them. It seems simplistic, but it’s the unfortunate truth of the matter. Costello or King would be toast in a runoff.
I think Turner’s main goal right now is eliminating Bell
I disagree with Keith Parson. I think most Republican activists understand that Bell is to the left of Turner, and the success of Ben Carson in the polls shows that GOP activists can move past race for a candidate who is closer in philosophy. But given how liberal both are perceived in GOP circles, the more likely result would be that R voters would stay home given a Turner-Bell choice.
On the other hand Garcia is perceived as more conservative, and has a handful of prominent R endorsements. Garcia has some baggage, though, and I don’t know how R voters would assess a Turner-Garcia choice in the end.
I met Turner 30 years ago on the opposite side of a lawsuit. He was well-prepared, and mentally sharp. I have had few contacts with Garcia, but he does not appear to be equally sharp.
I think most of us who pay the slightest bit of attention to the candidates and their political stance, positions on issues, etc., would probably be dismayed at the huge volume of people who have zero clue who is even running, let alone their positions. The conservative Republicans who pay enough attention would probably know Bell is left of Turner, but then again, how many pay that close attention? Especially to candidates on the left? The same is true for a lot of moderates and voters on the left. I’m a progressive & was undecided between Bell & Turner, but ended up voting for Bell this first round. I wasn’t overly optimistic about him getting into the run off, but voted for him anyway. I’ve talked to a few other progressive voters that ultimately did the same thing. (Heavy emphasis on a few). I’m not holding my breath, but it wouldn’t totally shock me for Bell to end up slipping into the run-off. If that happens, combined with the HERO vote being behind us in a run off, I think a lot of conservatives won’t bother to vote, not liking either one. That would end up being an ugly contest between the progressive factions but ultimately pretty much decided by those voters. I think if it ends up being Garcia, you will see more conservatives turn out as he would be “the lesser of two evils” in their book.