Re “The Dream That Splintered”

Over the weekend, a former City Councilman seemed more vexed than pleased with last Friday’s slant on Councilperson Meghan Sahli-Wells’s attempt to fill two vacant seats with fellow progressives.

Requesting anonymity, he said:

“I wish you had written with that level of candor during campaigns, not just after.”

Before addressing his 15 words, mull his request, which may be interpreted this way:

“I am going to step behind the curtain. Do not disclose my identity. But I prefer that you be more candid more often.”

What did Mom teach the seven of us? Honesty begins at home.

Regular readers know that campaigns of the seven contenders for three Council seats not only were covered with objectivity but interpreted with candor.

Based on the tones of both types of coverage, readers knew that Ms. Sahli-Wells was the likeliest first-place finisher and that Jay Garocochea was the best seventh-place bet – and why in each case.

It also was reported that Ms. Sahli-Wells ran a lacklustre campaign. Backed by the most productive, prolific electoral machinery and live bodies of any rival, she outdrew fellow progressive Thomas Small by 1,300 votes. Her race was not run even 25 votes better than Mr. Small’s, but therein lies the vote-producing power of well-organized political machinery. How else to explain the 1-2-4 finish of Ms. Sahli-Wells, Mr. Small and Daniel Lee, the latter two having light name recognition before the Council race?

C’est la vie.

This is why political campaigns are led by creative thinkers instead of math professors.

It was suggested here that Ms. Sahli-Wells, Goran Eriksson and Scott Wyant could win the three seats, in part because they were the three best known personalities in the field.

That Mr. Small, far less widely known, comfortably streaked home in second place can be traced to two prominent factors:

•  The sterling and stirring quality of the race the elegant Mr. Small conducted and
• The muscular electoral machinery that greatly help propel Ms. Sahli-Wells, Mr. Small and Mr. Lee over the finish line.

The degree and effect of negative campaigning in the late City Council race is covered separately in this edition (“Progressives Lucky Behavior Is Not Penalized”).