2011 IC City Council primary: "...the core of the issue of personal chicken ownership..."
Yesterday was the primary election for Iowa City’s City Council. Seven candidates were pared to four to vie for two at-large council seats in November. Matt Hayek (the only incumbent and IC’s current mayor), Michelle Payne, Raj Patel, and Jarrett Mitchell made the cut.
I was one of only 510 who cast a ballot. According to the Johnson County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections, turnout was a paltry 5.11 percent. When I approached the registration table at my polling place, the election workers looked at me as if I was lost. “Are you here to vote?” Duh!
Out of the seven candidates, I could vote for no more than two, which irked me since I thought more than a couple were deserving of my support. It made me feel the council system we use is very limited, but that is a subject for a different time. There was a diverse selection regarding age, beliefs, and sensibilities, and, for the most part, I was making the decision way too hard. I guess I am too inclusive and indecisive, too much of a Libra, for my own good. In the end I voted for Hayek, despite his lawyerness, and Mitchell, aka “the chicken guy.”
I found the below video informative regarding Mitchell’s biggest motivation for being a candidate: sustainability, especially in regards to backyard chickens.
Yes, it is somewhat laughable, but it is something that should be taken seriously. If the man wants to raise chickens in his backyard, enjoying the meat and eggs without being an annoyance to his neighbors, then let him do it. Personally, I have never lived near an urban chicken coop, but a woman in my parents’ cul-de-sac raised ducks every year. They were never a nuisance, and it was actually cool to hear them quacking and see them waddling around in their yard. (Usually the ducks flew away before winter, but they sometimes stuck around and were killed by cats.) The only issues I can think of that would arise from urban coops are noise and sanitation. Mitchell is adamant it was not a problem in Portland, so I am willing to let people try it here.
Mitchell also gained my vote with his stance on bicycling, as well as his stance against the city serving as a bank for developers, like neighboring Coralville. Plus, he is probably the only city council candidate I have seen in person in a non-campaigning mode. (Patel was at last Friday’s City High game, wearing a shirt with his campaign logo and accompanied by a similarly dressed entourage.) I have seen Mitchell at the farmer’s market and in College Green (sans chickens, of course). With long hair, usually tied in a braid, and wearing all denim, he looks like someone in one of the American Indian Movement documentaries my fifth grade teacher showed.
And you know what? He made the cut (by 17 votes). Both candidates I voted for made the cut, which is a marvel to me. (I think I was only one-for in the school board election, which shocked me.) Hayek is probably a shoe-in anyway, but the people I usually vote for are not even considered “real” candidates.
I was one of only 510 who cast a ballot. According to the Johnson County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections, turnout was a paltry 5.11 percent. When I approached the registration table at my polling place, the election workers looked at me as if I was lost. “Are you here to vote?” Duh!
Out of the seven candidates, I could vote for no more than two, which irked me since I thought more than a couple were deserving of my support. It made me feel the council system we use is very limited, but that is a subject for a different time. There was a diverse selection regarding age, beliefs, and sensibilities, and, for the most part, I was making the decision way too hard. I guess I am too inclusive and indecisive, too much of a Libra, for my own good. In the end I voted for Hayek, despite his lawyerness, and Mitchell, aka “the chicken guy.”
I found the below video informative regarding Mitchell’s biggest motivation for being a candidate: sustainability, especially in regards to backyard chickens.
Yes, it is somewhat laughable, but it is something that should be taken seriously. If the man wants to raise chickens in his backyard, enjoying the meat and eggs without being an annoyance to his neighbors, then let him do it. Personally, I have never lived near an urban chicken coop, but a woman in my parents’ cul-de-sac raised ducks every year. They were never a nuisance, and it was actually cool to hear them quacking and see them waddling around in their yard. (Usually the ducks flew away before winter, but they sometimes stuck around and were killed by cats.) The only issues I can think of that would arise from urban coops are noise and sanitation. Mitchell is adamant it was not a problem in Portland, so I am willing to let people try it here.
Mitchell also gained my vote with his stance on bicycling, as well as his stance against the city serving as a bank for developers, like neighboring Coralville. Plus, he is probably the only city council candidate I have seen in person in a non-campaigning mode. (Patel was at last Friday’s City High game, wearing a shirt with his campaign logo and accompanied by a similarly dressed entourage.) I have seen Mitchell at the farmer’s market and in College Green (sans chickens, of course). With long hair, usually tied in a braid, and wearing all denim, he looks like someone in one of the American Indian Movement documentaries my fifth grade teacher showed.
And you know what? He made the cut (by 17 votes). Both candidates I voted for made the cut, which is a marvel to me. (I think I was only one-for in the school board election, which shocked me.) Hayek is probably a shoe-in anyway, but the people I usually vote for are not even considered “real” candidates.
Comments
Post a Comment