2023 election – The Dissident Democrat

We Endorse: Ron Smith (City Council District 3)

For the District 3 City Council seat, we endorse Ron Smith for re-election.

We Endorse: Nicole Haughton Bolden (City Clerk)

For City Clerk, we endorse Nicole Haughton Bolden.

We Endorse: Joe Lee (City Council District 1)

For the District 1 City Council seat, we endorse the challenger, Joe Lee.

We Endorse: Sue Sgambelluri (City Council District 2)

For the District 2 City Council seat, we endorse Sue Sgambelluri for re-election.

We Endorse: Dave Rollo (City Council District 4)

For the District 4 City Council seat, we endorse the incumbent, Dave Rollo.

Okay, if you insist: We’re a PAC

On February 28, I took a walk down to Election Central to turn in a CFA-2 form, officially registering Bloomington Dissident Democrats as an Indiana Political Action Committee. Silly but true.

Gutter politics in Bloomington: Beware of ‘push polling’

By Peter Dorfman Six days in, with the 2023 Democratic primary election barely getting underway, voters in small town Bloomington got their first taste of big city campaign sleaze. On February 9, a friendly-looking post showed up in local voters’ Facebook feeds. It’s hosted by an innocuous page called “Indiana Citizens,” with a generic stateContinue reading “Gutter politics in Bloomington: Beware of ‘push polling’”

What’s a vote worth? Cash pouring into mayoral campaigns makes you wonder

How much campaign cash is enough? In such a small-time election, it’s fair to wonder where the campaigns run out of practical ways to spend their donated cash — and where contributions morph into opportunities to get the candidate’s attention.

2023 has arrived. This is your moment.

The 2023 election should be about reality. But more often in Bloomington, elections are about idealistic aspirations.

On Don Griffin’s Candidacy for Mayor of Bloomington

By Peter Dorfman Access to the halls of power in the US remain stubbornly restricted for people of color — the brief, exceptional interlude of Barack Obama’s Presidency notwithstanding. But there has long been an exception to this pattern, at the level of municipal government. Black, Latinx and Asian-American mayors have served, often with greatContinue reading “On Don Griffin’s Candidacy for Mayor of Bloomington”