Harding rejoins the mayoral race, as a write-in

UPDATE: Jody Harding made it "official" with a press release at 7:19 p.m. today: she will register as a “write-in” candidate in the mayoral election to be held May 5.

One of eleven candidates for mayor in the primary on April 7 -- she came in 7th with 6.5% of the vote -- Harding says she believes her message "got lost amid the noise of so many, predominantly liberal candidates."

“People were confused,” Harding says. “They were overloaded with information and given almost no time to sift through it. Many voters gave up and just marked the name they recognized, which is how we wound up with Dickert and Turner on the ballot. Politically, there is almost no difference between them, but they are both well known.”

The rest of her statement follows:

Harding believes that, with the primary over, voters will be able to see a clear difference between herself and the remaining candidates. “I am the only contestant,” she says, “who understands the damage over-taxation and over-regulation has done to this city. I am the only one with the qualifications to cut the waste from the budget, fight unnecessary regulation and make this a truly business-friendly town. I am the only one who sees that the KRM cannot possibly bring prosperity to a city where individuals and businesses leave every day because of our violent crime, poor schools and staggering tax burden.

“Finally,” she says, “I am the only candidate who brings a CPA’s skills and unassailable character to a position badly tarnished by ineptitude and scandal.”

Harding claims she is not trying to draw votes from either remaining candidate. “Many people don’t consider either candidate an acceptable choice for mayor. My goal is to give them a better option.”

As a registered write-in candidate, Harding says her supporters don’t even have to spell her name correctly. “The vote-counters will be on the lookout for any variation of ‘Jody Harding’ or just ‘Jody’,” she says. “They’ll know that’s me.”

Harding says she has been inspired to continue the fight by the dedication of taxpayers attending the TEA Parties being held across the country. She attended one of the rallies yesterday in Madison.

“The enthusiasm and conviction of the people at these events is amazing,” she says. “The taxpayers of this country, the backbone of America, aren’t ready to roll over and let Big Government take away our liberty, our prosperity and our children’s future. The silent majority is starting to make itself heard. I’m thrilled to be part of that movement.”

Harding suggests that anyone interested in more information about her stand on issues visit her website. Asked if she really believes a write-in candidate can upset two of the best-known names in Racine, Harding replied, “’Write in! Right on! Right now!’ People voted for Obama in 2008 because they wanted to be part of history. We can make history here in Racine on May 5th.”

Harding is a CPA and a member of the Racine Taxpayers’ Association. She will be speaking at the “Taxpayer Tea’d Off Party” being held Saturday, April 18, at noon at City Hall.

Harding added that if she is not invited to participate in RCEDC's members-only forum Monday at CATI in Sturtevant, then she will be on the steps at Memorial Hall, April 20, at 7:30 am, coffee in hand, and will welcome questions. "Watch the sun come up on Racine! It's time shed light on the office of Mayor!!!" she said.

Original post:

The Journal Times reports this afternoon that Jody Harding has declared herself a write-in candidate for mayor.

Declaring and filing, even as a write-in, are two different things, however. According to Assistant City Clerk Donna Deuster, nobody has yet filed the necessary paperwork, Campaign Registration Statement Form EB-1, to become an official write-in. But there is no deadline, so Harding can still file in plenty of time for the May 5 special election.

Harding, who more than a year ago announced her intention of running against then-mayor Gary Becker, came in 7th out of 11 candidates for mayor in the April 7 primary. She garnered 658 votes, out of 10,127 cast -- or 6.5%.

Since the primary, the blogosphere has been full of suggestions that she, or one of the other so-called conservatives on the non-partisan ballot -- Jaimie Charon or Greg Helding -- mount a write-in campaign to oppose John Dickert, who came in first in the primary, with 2,308 votes, and Bob Turner, who came in second, with 1,673.

Others have wondered whether Harding will be invited to participate in already scheduled candidate forums. Before her write-in candidacy was announced, we asked that question, as a hypothetical, of Kelly Gallaher of Community for Change. No, we were told, since anyone can declare themselves a write-in candidate.

Harding's message during the campaign was one of "cut spending, cut taxes, increase efficiency, do more with less." She is also an opponent of KRM.