While we’re all focusing on the exciting contested races tomorrow, there’s a hidden election shaping up: the election of the president of the next City Council. Greg touches on this in his election thoughts post.

If memory serves, the official vote to make Councilor Marc Laredo the current president was unanimous or nearly so. But, it followed weeks of maneuvering and vote-counting. In the end, Susan Albright and her supporters were a vote or two shy. 

Things could change, possibly dramatically. And, it’s not just who becomes president of the council. The president selects committee chairs and does committee assignments. It’s a powerful position.

Three of Councilor Laredo’s supporters* did not seek re-election: Barbara Brousal-Glaser (Ward 3), John Rice (Ward 5), and Cheryl Lappin (Ward 8). All three are ward councilors. Holly Ryan will take Councilor Lappin’s seat, unopposed. Bill Humphrey and Kathy Winters are competing for Councilor Rice’s seat. (Rena Getz will not win.) And, Carolina Ventura and Julia Malackie are competing for Councilor Brousal-Glaser’s seat. At best Councilor Laredo retains three votes, but he could easily lose all three.

Two key Councilor Laredo supporters — Emily Norton (Ward 2 ward councilor) and Greg Schwartz (Ward 6 at-large) — face serious challenges in Bryan Barash and Alicia Bowman, respectively. At best Councilor Laredo retains two votes, but he could also lose both.

Councilor Laredo could pick up supporters if challengers knock off incumbents Councilor Albright (Ward 2 at-large), Andrea Kelley (Ward 3 at-large), Deb Crossley (Ward 5 at-large), Andreae Downs (Ward 5 at-large), or Brenda Noel (Ward 6 ward), but those challengers — Tarik Lukas and Jennifer Bentley against Councilor Albright, Pam Wright against Councilor Kelly, former Alderman Paul Coletti against Councilors Crossley and Downs, and Lisa Gordon against Councilor Noel — are longer shots than Candidates Barash and Bowman. 

Notably, in his vote recommendation email, Councilor Laredo supports all of the at-large incumbents. If the vote falls along the lines of his email, he gains no votes to offset any loss from the four ward races. His email (the version sent to me, anyway) does not include the ward councilor races, though his 2017 email did.

Bottom line: the swing of pro-Laredo votes could be down 5 to up 5, with something along the down path much likelier. And, that’s if he retains all his current supporters. (On the flip side, some of Councilor Albright’s supporters could swap sides, but that seems less likely, too.) I’ll have an election prediction post sometime tomorrow, but fully expect that someone new will be wielding the president’s gavel come January 1, 2020.

* All supporters or opponents of Councilor Laredo are based on understanding of shared positions and some other factors. The situation was fluid and I may not have the final alignment all the way correct. But, I am willing to bet that all the challengers for at-large seats would be Councilor Laredo supporters.