Lucy Ann Lance interviews John Hieftje and Patricia Lesko for WLBY 1290 on Friday in AnnArbor.com's first floor Community Space.

Jessica Webster | AnnArbor.com

The primary election is Tuesday. Political blogs are at their most active just before elections, and inevitably there are endorsements, controversies, allegations and counter-allegations. Here's a sampling of the local political blogs, with special attention to the contested races where people are having a difficulty making a choice, and also with attention to endorsements that cross party lines.

City of Ann Arbor

Anonymous political blogger Arborblahg has a list of endorsements for the election. The endorsements focus on three races: the Democratic gubernatorial primary (Virg Bernero and Andy Dillon), the 18th district senate race (Rebekah Warren, Pam Byrnes and Tom Partridge), and the 53rd district house race (Ned Staebler and Jeff Irwin). 

"Sooooo, think of my endorsements and the tortured process of reasoning behind them as a dare to post your own. Debunk my conclusions, counter them with suggestions of your own, or flat-out tell me I’m wrong. The point is to spur conversation not deliver the gospel according to arborblahg."

Ann Arbor mayoral candidate Patricia Lesko has a long-running weblog, A2Politico, which was originally published anonymously. The top of the page today is "The Politics of the Plebis Scitum: Ann Arborites On Why They’re Voting For Change August 3rd."  It consists mostly of a list of endorsements for the election. "Plebis scitum" is Latin; I was able to find in Wordnik an entry for plebiscitarian, though I'm not certain that I really understand what is meant by its use here.

Ypsilanti

Ypsilanti blogger and puppetmaster Mark Maynard notes in "‘Tis the season for malicious political attacks": "We’ve got about a week or so to go before the August 3 Michigan primary, and, as is the custom, all the anonymous, innuendo-filled [redacted] is starting to fill the mailbox." 

He notes a flyer which is attributed to the Ypsilanti Political Caucus: "We believe everything about Richard Nixon: his political history; career; strategies; tactics; etc. apply equally to Pete Murdock. In fact, they apply perfectly." Maynard links to the Wikipedia entry for Watergate-era dirty tricks, with a reference to a term first used by Donald Segretti.

The puppetmaster reference to Maynard reflects his role in the Ypsilanti mayoral debates. "Why Doesn’t Ann Arbor Have Its Own Puppet-Hosted Mayoral Debate?," asks Arborblahger:  "Thank goodness for Mark Maynard (my favorite local blahgger), who acted as both political host and inquisitor… in his puppet form....So, when will A2 put together something like this? Maybe the downtown fairies can get together and hold a candidate forum. I’d love to hear Hieftje defend his environmental record to a couple of wood elves or Lesko explain her Argo Dam position to a bunch of nyads."

Designated Conservative

A blogger known only as the Designated Conservative writes about Washtenaw County politics from a conservative point of view. The blog provides recommendations for most of the Republican side of the ticket, though in races in Ypsilanti where no Republican is running the nod generally goes to the Democrat. A notable exception is in the Washtenaw County Commissioner race, District 6, which is comprised of the City of Ypsilanti and part of Ypsilanti Township: "Mark Namatevs (D), because Mr. Peterson has been in this seat for far too long and has done far too little to help the City of Ypsilanti be successful in dealing with fiscal challenges, especially in the area of public safety."

If you're not used to extended discussion of Washtenaw County Republican politics, the Washtenaw County Republican Committee has news, events, and a calendar.

Edward Vielmetti redacts the more colorful portions of contemporary political campaign language for AnnArbor.com. Contact him at edwardvielmetti@annarbor.com.