A political comparison article, or an advertisement for Woods?

Mr. Granias chose to support Lauren Woods after he "sat down and talked" to both candidates. Granias praised Lauren for being friendlier during her interview, while Eli acted more professional as a politician would. Of course the "interview" with Woods is going to be more friendly when the interviewer has a friendly relationship with the person. Furthermore, this is a political position; I would feel more comfortable with a candidate who acts professional as alderman. The scoring system used by Granias was entirely skewed and completely unprofessional. This is a political race not a sporting event. Giving the candidates scores for their political positions is sickening. An article discussing candidate's issues should focus on the issues, not a biased misrepresentation of their personalities. Another surprise, Woods won the point race 3-0. Granias, if you want to seem unbiased in any way you should have at least made it a close race. Think about it.

The first point Granias tacked up for Woods was on the issue of safety. I am appalled that the candidate who does not consider campus safety their number one priority could win the safety column. Judge's number one priority is safety, and as a student who's safety has been threatened on multiple occasions I appreciate the concern. Granias then outlines Woods' plan

for campus safety while only dedicating one sentence to Judge. Was this editorial an advertisement for Woods, or a comparison of two candidates?

Granias then continues to give another point to Woods for student representation. Woods does have an amazing amount of experience. However, nothing can be compared to Judge's ability to unite the entire campus, shattering student vote records.

Again Granias posts Wood's entire resume in the article while only citing one example of Judge's experience. Again I ask, what is the intention of this article?

The remaining point, again awarded to Woods was for Student representation. I have one simple comment for this. Students know Eli Judge. If you ask around campus, students know and respect the positive representation of students Judge has displayed while a student at the UW.

I also find it intriguing that the article was printed on the day of the Democratic party meeting where they will be choosing which candidate to endorse. Coincidence? An article about political issues should be about just that. The Badger Herald columnist should not be using their article to support their friend's campaigns. Both Woods and Judge are extremely strong candidates, and I would encourage the residents of district 8 to meet/research each candidate and decide base on reliable information.

Jonathan Raffesberger
UW junior