Last Thursday I attended John Bailey’s fundraiser at Oakland in Town Center. John is attempting to unseat Liz Bobo for the District 12B House of Delegates seat. Though one may get the impression from reading local blogs that Liz is vulnerable the reality on the street is far different. John Bailey faces a tough uphill slog.To say the attendance at his event was tepid would be an understatement. I arrived a little around 5:30 PM for the Happy Hour event that started at 5:00 PM. I was the second person there. By the time I left an hour later there were still less than 10 attendees and that included Larry Carson and John’s special guest, former County Executive Chuck Ecker.
I realize that it is still very early in the campaign season but right now John Bailey’s prospects look pretty bleak. John is a nice, sincere guy but unless he is able to somehow ignite more enthusiasm for his candidacy Liz will almost certainly hold onto her seat.
Opponents of Liz’s left leaning anti development politics are faced with two choices; either they coalesce behind Bailey or recruit another candidate to challenge her. Time is running out. The deadline for filing is July 6th.
