OK, so I've narrowed it down to two candidates for Mayor of Pensacola: Diane Mack and Ashton Hayward.
What about the other candidates? I don't care. I've weeded them out for miscellaneous, nebulous reasons. I don't have endless amounts of time to carefully research every candidate, so I have to rely on gut reactions to get the list to a manageable number.
Why do I think Diane Mack and Ashton Hayward are good choices? Both have put thought and work into their online presence, which is important to me. Both have been portrayed in a favorable light by my favorite local blogs. Both have expressed concern with public transit, pedestrian- and bicycle-centered design, job growth, mixed-income/mixed-use neighborhoods, environmental issues.
As it stands right now, I think Mack's vision is more specific and more experience-based than Hayward's. It may be a small thing but I like that she specifically supports the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. They do amazing things there and Pensacola should be proud of them and take advantage of what the Institute can do for the area in terms of status and the general economy. Imagine what spin-off companies could come from such a place. Tech is a big buzzword in today's job scene and there are few places in the world as cutting edge as IHMC.
Also, I like Mack's desire for a world-class medical school to be located here. I don't know if this is accurate but it seems to me that, after the military, the medical industry is the biggest one in the region. Go with it. Gulf Breeze has the Andrews Institute, which is a world-class facility. We've already seen that top doctors and researchers will move to the Pensacola area. We already have an amazing stable of medical practicioners. Let's grow our own here.
My two main sources for my information on Diane Mack and Ashton Hayward come from Rick's Blog:
Hayward's 20 http://ricksblog.biz/?p=11898
Diane Mack's Vision Statement and Campaign Platform http://ricksblog.biz/?p=12020
You can also found out more at the candidates' websites:
http://ashtonhayward.com/
http://www.dianemackcampaign.com/
My mind's not made up yet, though. I have a week left to ponder it and mull it over and arrive at a decision I'm happy with and can defend reasonably.
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