Some updates on the ol' 77th.
First topic: Who lives in the district? And does it matter?
Earlier this week Ald. Mark Clear, a supporter of Brett Hulsey, left a comment on The Sconz alleging that Ben Manski, who is running as a Green candidate for the seat, does not live in the 77th district. Apparently he is correct. When I asked Manski about his address, he responded that he has deep roots in the district, where he went to elementary school, high school and college.
The only requirement for being a state representative is that you be a "qualified elector" in the district at the time you take office, and that you have lived in the state for a year. Hat tip to one of my favorite sources for directing me to this convenient page, which shows all the requirements for all state offices.
Peg Lautenschlager endorses Fred Wade. More endorsements to come.
It looks like Fred Wade could be the candidate that liberals, many of whom perceive Hulsey as an environmental traitor and Hesselbein as inexperienced and unproven, unite around. Former AG Peg Lautenschlager is headlining (if that's the right term) an event for Wade in about an hour at La Brioche on University Ave (7:30 p.m.). A liberal darling to many in the area, Lautenschlager gave Dane County's Kathleen Falk a thorough thumping in the Democratic primary that she ultimately lost four years ago. A source close to the campaign tells me to expect more endorsements from Democrats soon.
Websites and facebook pages.
If some of these people have websites, they're doing a terrible job of promoting them. While I think it's rather daft to forgo such an easy $15 investment, the absence of websites also highlights the growing importance of facebook. Candidates for down-ballot races can communicate on a daily basis with likely voters and compare their friend counts to their opponents. Right now Hesselbein has 294 fans, Hulsey has 120 and Doug Zwank has one. I'm sure it's one very committed fan though. By far the most impressive showing comes from Manski, who set up his page just last week and already has 262 members. Curiously, Hulsey also seems to have two personal facebook pages. One here and one here.
John Imes and Fred Wade have websites but do not seem to have facebook accounts yet. Whoever wrote Wade's bio refers to him repeatedly as "Mr. Wade," which is a major political no-no in my book. Campaigning is about familiarity, as displayed by "Dianne for Assembly" and "Brett 4 Us," the latter of which is not active yet.
