I haven’t paid much attention at all to the San Jose mayor’s race. I’ve seen blurbs in the paper and a few ads in the mail. I was thinking the other day, though, at least three of the candidates are current city council members. There is at least one other guy running, a developer, I believe. My first impulse is to support the developer. I think I figured out why.

When a person has a private occupation, even one that some may not particularly like, we know where that person stands. We know the history, and we know what we should be skeptical of in that person. It would be much more apparent, and egregious even, were a business person to be elected mayor and then award known friends and contacts of that person with beneficial contracts, favorable regulations, or what have you.

On the other hand, when a candidate is already a politician, his or her full time job is already a spinner, a deceiver, and a back-room dealer. It is much more difficult for the public to see what this person is doing when already his or her time is constantly spent making false promises and covering up blunders.

By default, I pretty much distrust anyone who aspires to be a politician, so I cannot see the sense in repeatedly electing those same people.