For me, at least in Jerusalem, it does matter to me who becomes mayor and controls the city council. The status quo can't continue. The haredi control of council has strangled and stifled the growth of Jerusalem for decades--since the reign of Teddy Kolleck. Having a mayor whose eye is not on Kikar Safra (the location of City Hall) but somewhere else--the Knesset (Olmert) or Kikar Shabbat (the centre of Mea Sharim/Haredi Judaism) has turned Jerusalem into one of the poorest city in Israel.
This time around, four people are running for mayor. Two front runners, Meir Porush (Haredi and currently Member of Knesset) and Nir Barkat ('secular', former high tech entrepreneur and head of the opposition in the Jerusalem city council), and two also-rans, Arcardi Gaydamak and Dan Biron. The latter two, as far as I'm concerned, serve as protest votes and a way to split the non-haredi vote thus, assuring a Porush victory. Whereas, the non-haredi population seems to be concerned by personality, the haredi population tends to vote as a bloc--as dictated by their Rabbi (or "supreme leader"). Thus, haredi candidates (=those supported by the community) are assured of a guaranteed number of votes. (Should the haredi communal leadership refuse to endorse anyone, the haredi vote is negligible. I don't think that'll happen now, the powerful allure of money and power is too strong for all involved to ignore the haredi population.)
While I certainly understand that nether of front runners is "perfect", elections rarely are. They're more often a choice between worse and slightly less bad. If true, then it's a matter of holding your nose and voting for the least offensive choice. To either refuse to vote at all or cast a protest vote only serves to dilute the opportunity to create real change. A number of "leftists" I know are offended by Barkat's pronouncements (anti-Palestinian) and refuse to vote for Porush. Their refusal to 'hold their nose' means that the next five years will stink in Jerusalem.
Whatever political maneuvering Nir Brakat has engaged in, to better assure his election, at least he has his eye on Kikar Safra. He seems genuinely concerned about the welfare of all of Jerusalem and not just a selected few. After losing the last municipal election five years ago, he stuck it out sitting in the opposition of city council (when he could have just said "forget about it the hassle and frustration isn't worth the effort"). I respect that.
Up until a week ago, I had no idea idea who to vote for in the council portion of the election. My worst case scenario was Nir Barkat as mayor with a haredi council as what happened during the reign of Teddy Kolleck (and Ehud Olmert). Both found it necessary to achieve some of their goals--mostly in the cultural area--by organizing a (new) Jerusalem Foundation.
After attending a parlor meeting, I decided to stop worrying based on the assumption that if Barkat wins the mayoral race will also mean a non-haredi council.
The question then became which 'party' to vote for. Since a vote for a group that doesn't pass the vote threshold is considered a "spoiled ballot" and doesn't count a a vote (as does a blank ballot/ piece of paper).
At the meeting were two parties -- Hit'toarut Yerushalyim and Barkat. After listening to both, I realize my best option was to vote for Barkat and not split the non-haredi vote among the smaller parties.
STOP.
According to the telephone poll of Channel 1, Barkat will be the next mayor. YAY and we'll see.
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