Two West Valley cities will hold general elections a week from today.
In Buckeye, Jackie Meck and Michael Todd are running for mayor; and in Litchfield Park, Susan Van Duyn is hoping to win Councilman Peter Mahoney's seat.
In both races, it's a matter of new face vs. old.
Meck is a native of Buckeye. Todd has lived in Buckeye for six years. He's the "new face" many residents are looking for.
The West Valley View endorsed Meck in the primary election and we are restating our endorsement here. Several readers have asked why we would endorse someone who is part of the town's "old guard" when our editorials have called for change in the town's leadership. As former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once said: "You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want." In Buckeye, you go to the polls with the candidates you have, not necessarily the candidates you want. The ideal candidate would be one who isn't a part of the old guard and who has extensive public service experience. Unfortunately, that candidate isn't running in this election.
Of the two candidates who are running, Meck is the better choice. He has broad public service experience; Todd's only experience is as vice chairman of the Airport Advisory Board. In a questionnaire he filled out for the View, Todd couldn't even confirm that he had attended any Town Council meetings in the past year.
Some might see Meck's previous experience on the Town Council and his former stint as mayor to be a black mark against him. But here's another way to look it: Who would you rather have flying your plane - the pilot with thousands of hours of flying time on a variety of aircraft, or the guy who's only logged a few hours on a flight simulator?
Meck's experience trumps Todd's "new face."
Van Duyn in Litchfield Park
The View endorsed neither Peter Mahoney nor Susan Van Duyn in the primary election.
Mahoney has lived in the city a long time, understands the issues, challenges the council to defend its decisions and is a bright man, but he takes the issues personally and finds it hard to let go of issues once they are decided.
Although Van Duyn has less knowledge of the issues at the moment, we expect her to be able to come up to speed quickly and become a valuable asset to the council.
The View endorses Susan Van Duyn in the May 20 general election.
