Word: councillor
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...after one or two elections, the effects of the change will make themselves felt. Initially, prospective candidates will find it easier to break into the Council. No longer will a Councillor be able to rely on a small block of faithful, reliable voters. To win he will need a majority. It is the implications of this simple truth that puzzle so many observers...
This style of politics is highly personalized. The skillful councillor has a firm grasp on his "number one votes," and election-time does not see the swaying of large numbers of people from one candidate to another. At a recent political rally, one politician surveyed the crowd and commented: "There's not a person in this room who doesn't already know who his 'number one vote' is going to. You can't be active in Cambridge politics and stay uncommitted...
...Maher wins, someone on the present Council must go. The who is the question that no one can seem to answer. Mayor Crane, Councillor Walter J. Sullivan (normally the vote-gettingist candidate), and CCA-endorsed Mrs. Cornelia Wheeler are usually conceded to be safe. Al Vellucci is safe, though his security isn't as well-established as either Sullivan's, Crane's or Wheeler...
Electioneering is not city-wide; politicians for the most part, appeal to narrow geographical or interest groups (East Cambridge or University people, to take just two examples). The successful councillor wins and holds his "number one voters." As an incumbent, he spends most of his time trying to keep them happy. He answers their questions, attends their parties, makes sure their garbage is collected, sees to it that a signal light is installed at the corner or a sidestreet repaved. Consequently, by the time election time rolls around, a large percentage of Cambridge voters have, in effect, already pledged their...
...race just getting himself known, and then the next two years solidifying the personal ties he has made. Still, he may leave a weak and politically worthless impression: "George is a nice guy, and I'd like to give 'em my number one, but--has been a good councillor, and besides which, he got cousin...