Don't Forget Beth

It's been an exciting election season, so exciting that we haven't been able to touch on all the news. Between the Troy ballot scandal, Kevin Harrington's discharge problems (and potential termination from his state job), Norm Young's residence (that's just a statement, not a trivia question), Bill "Dorm Authority" Dunne's televised rants and attempts to keep a Troy resident from addressing the Troy City Council and Linda Underwood's disturbing statements on a far-left blog, it's safe to say that the self-destruct feature has been activated on the Rensselaer County Democrats.

Unfortunately, there aren't enough hours in the day to cover all of it. That's why we had to make the time to talk about Beth Walsh's campaign for Family Court Judge, and so begins our walk down Memory Lane.

Remember when the Democrats tried to override the will of Troy voters and get rid of term limits? Beth Walsh remembers. She remembers because she was the first out of the gate with a proposal to do so. From the archives of the Times Union:

In 1993 voters approved city charter changes that did away with the city manager form of government and established a strong mayor. Those changes also limited the mayor to two four-year terms and council members to four two-year terms.

In March 2000, Democratic Councilwoman Elizabeth Walsh first proposed legislation that erased the charter's term-limit language, but it failed.

Some would dismiss the issue on account of the Family Court having precisely zero jurisdiction over term limits, or any election issue, for that matter. But after trying to toss aside a cornerstone of government that was approved overwhelmingly by the voters, it's difficult to take her seriously when she asks for their support. It's kind of like Ike Turner asking Tina to get him an icepack for his hand. It most definitely takes a lot of nerve. Another TU missive from the period:

Councilwoman Beth Walsh, the Democrats' majority leader, was stunned and tearful as she walked with her husband to the Democratic gathering in the ballroom above the Trojan Tap Room. She said she did not know how they came to lose so dramatically.

Beth Walsh led the charge to override a referendum, the best measurement of the will of the people offered by democracy, and couldn't understand why her party was swept out of office. This is hardly a style of reasoning we want to install behind the bench.