When I ask my Democratic friends who they believe is the best candidate for governor, all save one, respond Oz Griebel.  When I ask them who they plan to vote for, they all respond “Ned Lamont.”  I ask why.  The answer is universal, Oz Griebel can’t win and they fear Bob Stefanowski .

When I ask my Republican friends who they believe is the best candidate for governor, all save none, respond Oz Griebel.  When I ask them who they plan to vote for, they respond “Bob Stefanowski.” I ask why. The answer is universal, Oz Griebel can’t win and they fear Ned Lamont.

My vote for the most noble political people in Connecticut this week: the 60,000 who voted for petitioning governor candidates without succumbing to “spoiler” condescension from their families, colleagues, and friends. That nobility includes independent candidate Oz Griebel himself. He faced a lot of pressure from very well-meaning people, but Oz upheld his purpose, and stayed steadfast to the cause of so many voters who wanted him to succeed.

If “All politics is local,” as the legendary pol Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill averred, the same bromide should apply to journalism. It certainly does in my experience. I started my writing career in 1973 at a content-challenged weekly newspaper in rural New Hampshire. It didn’t have an editor or a reporter. I was hired to be the ad salesman, but spent most of my time writing stories and editing press releases. I wasn’t selling many ads so there was a lot of white space to fill.