By Scott Tibbs, November 2, 2012
What does it say about the Democrats' candidate for auditor when a prominent local Democratic volunteer and donor (not to mention the husband of the Democratic city clerk) openly endorses his Republican opponent? If anything, it makes the choice very clear. The Auditor's Office race is about qualifications, and Vivien Bridges is by far the most qualified candidate. She deserves to be elected.
Don Moore is a prominent local Democrat, and is an activist and donor. He is the husband of Bloomington City Clerk Regina Moore and serves on the Monroe County Redevelopment Commission. In the most recent campaign finance reports for local Democrats, Moore donated $100 to Elizabeth Lee Jones for Monroe County Council and another $100 to Julie Thomas for Monroe County Commissioner.
In the 2006 election cycle, Moore donated $240 to County Council candidate Vic Kelson, $140 to County Council candidate Mark Stoops, and $100 to to County Council candidate Jill Lesh. In the 2004 election cycle, Moore donated $175 to County Commissioner candidate Mike Englert and $250 to judge candidate Steve Galvin. In the 2002 election cycle, Moore donated $500 to county commissioner candidate Brian O'Neill.
Every single one of these candidates are Democrats.
Moore posts as "DRM" on the HeraldTimesOnline.com, where he has openly endorsed Bridges several times:
- October 9, 2012: 4:28 pm: I plan to vote for Viv for county auditor. I've always liked her and her hubby, and really don't want a continuation of the last four years in that office. So much for your assumption that all electoral deecisions are made on the basis of partisanship.
- October 25, 2012: 5:46 pm: I use to even then occasionally switch to the R office seeker if I knew something I liked about them (last decade or so I have not done this as I am not thrilled with even the R's I like for not speaking up publicly about the direction of their party, or working hard enough to change it back--on the other hand, I plan to do it for county auditor this election).
Childish trolling aside, Moore repeated his endorsement for Bridges on October 28.
This is huge news, but the Herald-Times has been sitting on this story. When a devoted partisan like Moore is endorsing a Republican candidate for elective office, the newspaper should be asking a very important question: Why? Does Bloomington City Clerk Regina Moore - elected four times as a Democrat - also support the Republican candidate for Auditor? What about Bloomington's Democratic Mayor, Mark Kruzan?
The fact of the matter is the last eight years have been an utter disaster, and Steve Saulter is likely to deliver more of the same. Even prominent Democrats recognize this, and are jumping ship to endorse the Republican candidate. If you have "had enough" of Democratic incompetence and corruption in managing county finances, vote for Vivien Bridges.