Prayer of Serenity

God grant me the

Serenity

to accept the things I

cannot change

Courage to

change the things I can

and Wisdom to

know the difference

Ciao, baby!

Strange how these polls work

This past week's poll question wanted to know if Bessemer Mayor Ed May was doing a good job or not.

The poll was up for nearly a week and 90 percent thought he was doing a horrible job.

At 9 p.m. Sunday it was still that way. But between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. today 131 votes poured into the poll saying that he is doing an outstanding job of running the city.

Many are wondering where these votes came from, sort of like in the 2006 runoff election when he — after barely campaigning — scored 58 percent of the total vote.

Some things make you want to say Mmm...

—Tribune staff report

May plans to control City Council

Bessemer Mayor Ed May is planning on tightening his grip on city hall through an organized attempt to take over the City Council.

Final day to qualify to run in the August election is April 2.

May's eldest son, Ed May II, is running the campaign to fill six of the seven council seats.

He is running for Dorothy Davidson's District 1 seat. She is running for mayor.

The other candidates in the May council stable have not been announced yet.

—Tribune staff report

Endorsement, sort of

I voted for Ed May in 2002 and 2006 and the only thing I got was this silly red nose. Now I'm upset. DO NOT vote for May in 2010.

—Donated political advert 

May has distinct advantage

Bessemer Mayor Ed May has a distinct advantage over his rivals in this August's citywide elections as he attempts to gain his third term.

The advantage is money. In 2006, May raised and spent about $250,000, or significantly more per vote than President Obama did in 2008.

Of course, most of May's money came from outside the area. About $55,000 came from Edison, N.J., and Alpharetta, Ga. And some money was funneled through the Political Action Committee (PAC) operated by former Democratic strategist Al LaPierre, now a convicted felon.

As we reported last month, Aaron Killings and Denise Blue Poe — assistant city attorneys — have established three PACs that will undoubtedly be used to help their boss be re-elected.

The problem with PACs is that it is nearly impossible to trace donations, which means the mayor's trail of contributions will for the most part be unknown.

—Tribune staff report