endorsement

Jack Connolly, Bob Daut, and Marty Martinez are running for the at-large alderman seat vacated by Denise Provost. I don't know what endorsements Connolly has picked up as his web site is for an election he lost in 2005. Martinez seems to be making the most of his endorsement from Provost, but he has one from Bill White as well, and a host of well-reasoned opinions which show a much improved understanding of the real issues facing the city since a couple of years ago. Daut has a website now too, where he pays lip service to some of the same city issues, but he doesn't seem to get it: development in Union Square is not going to work without transit, and the big condo and retail projects the developers want have school and traffic costs he's not thinking about, while neglecting local jobs and affordable-housing benefits.

I'd be voting for Martinez even if Daut were a stronger candidate than he is, because I want to send Connolly packing convincingly enough that he doesn't run again at the next regular election. But now that I've had a chance to see what Daut is about, I'm prepared to suggest to my friends that they do the same. Martinez is clearly prepared to think about the issues. This kind of thinking is why I've endorsed people like Provost and White in the past, and it will be nice to have another voice of reason in City Hall.