Based on new information, the INDY is rescinding our endorsement of WILLIAM MADDEN in the Democratic primary.
Instead, we’re endorsing TAMMY BRUNNER.
On Saturday, Madden was campaigning at an early-voting site in Cary. When a poll worker told him that he could not campaign inside the voting area, according to Wake County Board of Elections director Gary Sims, Madden became “aggressively confrontational” and cursed out the poll worker. He called other officials names and took issue with a parking attendant, with whom he had a beef. The Cary Police Department was called.
Madden says he was just cursing out the parking attendant, not the poll worker.
This isn’t the only offputting thing about Madden, who moved to Wake last year. When he registered to vote, he tried to list his race as “Irish,” which we found odd: “I feel that this whole white or other [thing] is continuing to hold up the binary—white or nonwhite race—within our society, and if I wanted to describe myself as Irish for race, there’s no good reason why I can’t.”
Another thing: His website makes reference to him “losing his wife” in 2007, which is sad. Except she’s alive. They got an annulment. His explanation: “I did lose her. I never said that she died.”
Lastly, we asked Madden if he had an anger problem: “Do I have an anger problem? I don’t think anybody readily wants to admit to having an anger problem,” he said. Then, “I don’t like people who have a position of authority who abuse other people.”
So, yeah, we bombed this one. Fortunately, TAMMY BRUNNER is great. Among other things, she’s the former director of the state Democratic Party and ran a PAC that recruited legislative candidates to break the Republican supermajority. She has experience in innovating and managing organizations. And she has our enthusiastic support.
Comment on this story at backtalk@indyweek.com.
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Thanks for posting this I would not have found this out by just looking at the candidates’ websites.
NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR ENDORSEMENTS
No one has pointed out how Madden has been harassed at the OSEV sites by Brunner supporters.
And the Wake BOE staff has a history of threatening to arrest candidates and activists when dealing with issues of signage, parking, and even poll greeting. The Chairs of the Wake Dems and GOP actually held a joint rally to protest BOE staff decisions to ban poll greeting at OSEV sites without the knowledge or approval of the appointed BOE members. So the BOE ED isn’t a white knight in shining armor.
The Indy staff is overlooking Brunner’s lack of qualifications for the office especially given her history of handling money in previous positions that they are or should be aware of given their past coverage. It’s irresponsible of the Indy to ignore that history.
Can you update this on your endorsement page. You may alos want to relook at Sig Hutchingson. I don’t view his positions to override our parks as bold