Dyed finger

Not quite scarlet, but the dyed finger will do. Not a mark of infamy nor disgrace, but a badge of honor and pride. Black is the color of my true loves’ hair, and finger on Saturday. “I voted,” the finger declares. “Have you?” is the query.

The path to the polling gates today will be lined with supporters of red, blue, green and yellow. There will be familiar faces boldly glaring from supersized billboards. On the leading roles:

Former Governor Froilan Tenorio and Tony Santos lead off the red (white and blue). I call him the nostalgia candidate with a verifiable man’amko following. To many, his last turn was a pleasant memory. To others, a nightmare. The courts have yet to complete sorting out which is which. However, I was told that one was clear who was in charge and who was minding the store during his watch. Subordinates who did not comply with executive orders got their marching orders quickly. There is perception that by the books was not always the beginning point but it was always an afterthought once the deed was done. And thar lied the rub! Afterthoughts took on cover-up, cover-the-trails, or just plainly took cover until the next budgetary allocation. In any case, after the deed, one was clear who to praise and/or who to blame!

The blue (red and aloha) goes with the man’hoben pied pipers. Save that last misrepresented, misquoted, taken out of context misinterpreted misspeak—”Students can’t even put a sentence together!”—the Heinz-David duo command a respectable following from the youth. Unfortunately for the tandem, some may not be old enough to vote. Their forte is the promise and the appearance of possible radical change, which to the young, translates into hope. This team, by my reckoning, is the dark horse.

The affable Ben and his associate Tim appear well organized, with a platform that is well thought out and reasonably laid out. They lead the greens, though hardly the Greens. They also hold the promise of a green future, green bucks, that is. New investors are presumably waiting in the wings to reverse the current era that has been characterized as anti-business and hostile to investors. Some have, however, noted a tendency to be playful, juvenile and prankish among those on the ranks. Others would claim downright meanness. The digitally transposed Governor Babauta head on a barong tagalog standing cozily besides Sedy Demeza was, by all accounts, hitting below the belt. The BT is giving the BB a run for their money!

The “Just (Juan) Do (Diego) It!” team is awash with yellow. Being the incumbents, they are vulnerable to all kinds of criticisms, as any deficiency or failure during this BB watch is attributable only to where the buck stops. They are also susceptible to the allure of the questionable use of power and public resources that benefit directly or indirectly a political campaign. Even supporters sometimes strain beyond credulity on the spins that explain why one hand asserting something, and the other hand doing the opposite, is to be lauded for ingenuity and good strategic sense. Abetted by a four-way race which enhances prospects of winning a reelection without getting a simple majority, the BB team exudes confidence that they have the numbers to do a repeat. They will not shrink, honey!

Speaking of Re-Pete, he just might make it with his “one living room at a time” campaign strategy. The indefatigable veteran has lots of admirers, if only for his spunk. One hopes that he might twist the dial a bit to the right, from fiscalizer to facilitator. We could use smarts to herd legislation and empower implementation so that things happen rather than barred from happening “just because.” Ditto for Stanley Torres.

Editorial boards in other publications often deliberate before an election to promote a party or a candidate. Ours have yet to do that (see editorial). Columnists generally do not make endorsements, though the discerning could easily spot a drift.

There are slots in the ballot where the choice is not going to be an easy one. For me, it is between two professional associates and personal friends aiming for the same position. As is true in life, sometimes the choice is between “good and good”; others, between “bad and bad.”

While I will not publicly endorse candidates, I could at least reveal who I am voting for, right? Sure. Come closer. I am voting across the board—red, blue, yellow, green and gamma-delta-iotas (GDIs), not party line. For the top executive offices, I am voting for the winning team, of course.

There. The dyed finger casts and having voted, moves on: neither prayer nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor any tear wash out a vote cast by it. (Sounds like I’ve read that from someplace. Farsi, anyone?) By midnight, we should know where the wind bloweth. Meanwhile, with a pitcher of margarita over at Oleai Bar and Grill:

Ah! my Beloved, fill the Cup that clears
To-day of past Regrets and future Fears
To-morrow?–Why, To-morrow I may be
Myself with Yesterday’s Sev’n Thousand Years.

(Strictly a personal view. Vergara writes a weekly column for the Saipan Tribune.)