AGAINST by Alex Y
I recognize that Imara is a cadre candidate and that using the new public matching program are both benefits in this election. However, I worry a lot about the chance to win here. It is the most rural part of the county and we have never gotten involved in a race with rural terrain before and for good reason. It is also one of the whitest parts of the county. Put both together and we already would be starting as underdogs regardless of the specifics. But the main issue here, setting aside the terrain, is Imara’s separation from local labor unions. He admitted during his Q&A that he has spurned labor unions by opposing plans for a data center being built in the county. We all have our opinions on data centers, but in this case labor unions support the construction of it because it would be built with union labor, just as is the case in Northern Virginia. There will certainly be a candidate who supports building the data center for whatever reasons, and they will probably earn endorsements from the local labor unions. It is one thing to run in an election without support from labor unions, but it is another thing to run against them. Worst case scenario, we also risk our relationships with labor unions in the area by endorsing in this race. This is not a recipe for success. Despite the desire to run a cadre candidate and win, I caution us to be realistic about the chances to win and the hefty amount of work it will require just to be competitive.