To the Polls! Let every man go to the Polls!
That was a cry from American newspapers in the early 19th century, symbolizing a period of political awakening as well as public interest and action. A similar slogan might have been in evidence on Saturday when an unprecedented 792 people exercised their franchise in the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council elections—nearly 10 times as many voters compared to the previous elections in 2010.
Saturday’s political action was significantly influenced by so-called “factual-basis stakeholders”—bureaucratese for just about anyone able to demonstrate an interest in neighborhood affairs by producing no more than a receipt for minor items such as gum, water or a cup of coffee purchased in Eagle Rock.
Of course, it's hardly the first time “Starbucks stakeholders” have influenced the outcome of a Neighborhood Council election—without in any way breaking the law. But in Eagle Rock, the phenomenon had the effect of “waking up the sleeping giant,” in the words of ERNC presidential contender Peter Hilton.
Fearing that their Neighborhood Council was about to be hijacked, Eagle Rockers flocked to the polling booths in record-high numbers apparently in response to word of an electoral invasion by a faction aligned with medical marijuana dispensaries.
Although the Progress and Collaboration slate, as this faction is called, denies any involvement, a deal was cut with outsiders that they would be given $40 worth of free marijuana products from a pot clinic in the Rampart area (Third Street and Rampart, to be precise) if they produced an “I Empowered LA” sticker given to voters who cast their ballot. (See attached scan of flyer.)
A total of 313 factual-basis stakeholders voted in the elections, compared with local residential voters who numbered 379. In the end, the factual-basis voters proved no match for the proverbial giant stirred from its slumber. All but two members of the Progress and Collaboration slate were defeated, according to preliminary results, which will become final if they go unchallenged within five days.
I'm also happy to report that EagleRockPrez is already up to 65 people on Twitter! At this rate, the number of residents represented on Twitter will surpass 500 by the time the new council is seated. Make sure your supporters and friends are included by insisting they sign up at http://twitter.eaglerockcouncil.com.
I missed all the excitement and being on video, which is a crying shame since I have a face made for radio and SOOO much to say about the elections. The factual basis broohaha? Well, who really cares? 379 people out of 30,000? Obviously a HUGE issue for EVERYBODY in Eagle Rock. This will go down on record as the biggest tempest in a teapot since....I dunno, the water fluoridation conspiracy?
Come on...You're being ridiculous.
Jason: The 40-dollar weed bounty for votes was very real, as were the flyers. I hope Ajay will follow up with a post on just this topic soon.
Thank you, Mr Langford. My beef is not and has never been with you. Have a beautiful day, Fall decided to delay it's arrival, again.
Again, just to clarify, you think that these outside, "factual-basis" voters just randomly showed up in ER on Saturday morning, and then someone on "Mikey and Nogueira's" side gave them these "BS" flyers? That's just absurd. Why would those people have driven from all over L.A. if they weren't already aware of the offer on the flyer? And, again, there's no dispensary name on the flyer--so if the flyer didn't come from a particular dispensary handing it out to their patrons, how would the people who were voting on a "factual basis" know where to get their free weed? If you think this is all some bizarre conspiracy, how do you account for that? Why would these people have voted unless they thought they were getting something out of it?
And how many flyers are we talking about anyway? A dozen? Several hundred? Something smells fishy here and it ain't the fish market at the mall. We should put our in-house detective, AFG on it. I'm sure he'll ask all the right questions and then some.
I find it ironic that the "conspiracy" nuts here are tossing around terms like "sheep," "great mystery," etc., when the simplest and most logical answer to all of this is that some specific dispensary passed out these flyers, which led to people who otherwise wouldn't have been in ER showing up to vote, thinking they would get free weed. Call me whatever names you'd like, question my gullibility, etc., but that's the simplest and most logical way for this to have occurred.
Honestly, considering the emotional tenor of this election I wouldn't put it past anyone to try to unduly influence the vote. Considering some of the gloating going on I don't even dismiss the idea of post election skullduggery to discredit the opposition or pre-election monkey business to discredit the possible outcome. We must get to the bottom of this!
Erykah - I agree with you that lies and false statements do no good, no matter who is spreading them. It was indeed a beautiful day here in Eagle Rock. I hope everyone stepped away from their computers today and enjoyed the clean air and beautiful sunshine.
I must have missed that. Who, pray tell?