Forbes just published its 20 Most Miserable Cities List for 2013. The magazine left off several obviously more "worthy" contenders, perhaps because its decisions to include and exclude certain criteria were, to say the least, more than a little odd.
I have listed the magazine's top twenty following the jump, along with each city's mayor and that person's political leanings, showing a commonality the magazine's Kurt Badenhausen failed to observe:
20. Youngstown, Ohio -- Charles P. Sammarone, DemocratThose who verify my links will notice that Forbes really listed Lake County, Illinois at Number 9. Sorry guys, a city is a city, and a county isn't. Waukegan is Lake County's county seat, and definitely deserves its spot on the list.
19. Gary, Indiana -- Karen Freeman-Wilson, Democrat
18. Poughkeepsie, New York -- John C. Tkazyik, Republican
17. Cleveland, Ohio -- Frank Jackson, Democrat
16. Atlanta, Georgia -- Kasim Reed, Democrat
15. Atlantic City, New Jersey -- Lorenzo Langford, Democrat
14. Milwaukee, Wisconsin -- Tom Barrett, Democrat
13. Camden, New Jersey -- Dana Redd, Democrat
12. St. Louis, Missouri -- Francis Slay, Democrat
11. Toledo, Ohio -- Michael Bell, ran as an independent but is a lifelong Democrat
10. New York, New York -- Michael Bloomberg, Nanny State "Independent" since 2007; Democrat before 2001; ran as a Republican in 2001 just to get a spot on the ballot.
9. Waukegan, Illinois -- Robert G. Sabonjian, Democrat (see first paragraph following this list)
8. Stockton, California -- Anthony Silva, a Republican sworn into office by Democrat and former California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.
7. Warren, Michigan -- James Fouts, Republican
6. Vallejo, California -- Osby Davis, Not determinable
5. Modesto, California -- Garrad Marsh, "non-partisan," clear Democrat sympathies
4. Chicago, Illinois -- Rahm Emanuel, Democrat
3. Rockford, Illinois -- Larry Morrissey, Independent
2. Flint, Michigan -- Dayne Walling, "nonpartisan," formerly worked for U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee, a Democrat
1. Detroit, Michigan -- Dave Bing, Democrat
So the lineup (classifying Bloomberg, Toledo's Bell, Modesto's Marsh, and Flint's Walling as Dems, which philosophically is clearly what they are):
- Democrats -- 15
- Republicans -- 3
- Independent/not determinable -- 2
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All yankees except for Atlanta and i don't really classify that as Southern anymore. Where is that war criminal Sherman when we need him? Somewhat supprised Macon didn't make the list.
ReplyDeleteTerry
Fla.
Longing for Sherman? What is the world coming to?
DeleteThere was a bumper sticker years ago that had:
Delete"Where is General Sherman when we need him the most?" :)
Agree with Anon that Atlanta has lost most of it's 'Southern-ness'. No doubt about it being a Democratic stronghold, though.
ReplyDeleteWe went to Stone Mountain for the light show some years ago on the way back from the SDYCamp and there were mostly foreigners there who seemed to have no idea in the world what it was about. The most appalling part was Lee breaking his sword. Now that's a new one on me.
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