|
The Cincinnati Beacon
Smitherman’s Missing Link
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
Local media has been buzzing this week, trying to figure out whether Christopher Smitherman is allowed to run for office while being president of the NAACP. The error in all this reporting, however, is that everyone seems to be writing as if Smitherman may currently be in violation of a rule. There is just one problem with that position—something so obvious, I can’t believe no one has mentioned it before. Christopher Smitherman is not officially running for anything!
This past Friday, I was at the Hamliton County Board of Election, filing papers for a new surprise you might learn more about soon. (No, it has nothing to do with City Council!) While there, I decided to ask who has officially filed and is now a recognized candidate for City Council.
The answer: Joan Kaup and Cecil Thomas. That means no one else is officially a candidate right now. Sure, some people may be thinking about or intending to run, but no one is officially a candidate. Period.
Think of it like this: anyone can go to the BOE and request petitions for becoming a City Council candidate. I could go, for example, get petitions, and say they are for Alicia Reece. A note would be made that petitions had been picked up for Alicia Reece.
If a reporter inquired as to who had petitions out, said reporter might conclude that Alicia Reece is running for office. But more accurately, it would just mean that someone took out some petitions.
In the case of Smitherman, I have not seen a web page. I have not seen any new campaign materials that have spent any money. I know he has announced his intent to run, and I know his campaign has been endorsed by the Green Party. But has his campaign begun?
Not officially. Just go to the BOE and ask them!
Whatever the status of this elusive NAACP rule, Smitherman can’t be violating anything until he becomes an official candidate. That deadline is the end of August.
|