Can an incumbent with $17,000 in his war chest be considered an UNDERDOG?

Now this was a surprising MJS_posting , the mayor is declaring himself as the underdog! Underdog? Besides, Schellinger already claimed_that_status when he said, "Looks like I'm the underdog." (Actually, I would have called Schellinger the dark horse, but that is old news now.)

Think about the mayor claiming underdog status. He the incumbent. He has the ability to make news. He has a bulging war chest of over $17,000--much of it donated by developers or businesses such as paving and excavating contractors. That does not sound like an underdog to me, but then the mayor does like to portray that, awe shucks, "I don't think Mike likes me anymore", image. (Mike Chmurski contributed to Speaker in 2002 and to Kilkenny in 2005. Kilkenny returned that money because Chmurski worked for a developer. According to MJS, "He (Mike) said the two have disagreed about whether Brookfield should enact a local ban on the use of eminent domain for private development, a tool in which government can condemn private properties and resell them for new development.") Rather than address the reason why a 2002 contributor is not contributing to his reelection, the mayor sizes it up as a doesn't like me issue. "

The reason incumbents are not considered the underdog is that they have a record to run on. If they have done a good job during their term, then reelection should be easy. They run on their record--it speaks for itself. Of course if the public does not perceive that they have done a good job, then the incumbent runs from their record. Example: two aldermen up for reelection have already stated that they regret their vote for Capitol Heights.

The mayor said he will be out campaigning more leaving city business in the hands of Dean Marquardt, but the MJS blog reported, he would be at City Hall more than "50% of the time"... "But I'm trying to take some days off to do doors. I'm in the middle of a campaign and I'm the underdog...I think I've got to get the word out more."

On Feb. 9th he was given an invitation to "get the word out", at the candidate forum our neighborhood hosted. He could have addressed 66 people in one evening--after City Hall office hours!

If I were to label a candidate, it would be Kilkenny, the GRASSROOTS candidate. Her support is coming primarily from the people who live here!

LINKS:
Mayor's race www.kilkennyformayor.com
Campaign updates www.kilkennyformayor.blogspot.com
Aldermanic race, district 6 & 7 www.betterbrookfield.com
If you have any questions or comments, please email me, kyleprast@gmail.com