Eileen Bruskewitz

Eileen Bruskewitz is a white haired, conservative white woman from a white district, a spunky politician whose yard signs are emblazoned with her first name. She’s running for County Executive. Let’s do a quick free association test:

I say “County….” You say?

“Coroner.”

That’s right. Basically, the County Coroner is the person that we think about when we think about county elected officials. But Eileen is not running for County Coroner, which is a good thing, because if she were running then we’d see yard signs that said “Eileen Coroner.” Ditching “Bruskewitz” in favor of “Executive” is a public relations choice that any of us who have pondered the difference between bruschetta and pizza can well understand. What the heck is “bruschetta” and what, I wonder, might it have to do with Bruskewitz? We voters are easily confused, but when faced with a sign that says “Eileen Executive,” we get it!

On the other hand, who wants to be confused with some eighties thrash metal band from Zurich? Bruskewitz has fought hard and she has fought fair, but her campaign is running down like a bunny with a brand X battery. It’s over. Dead. Tag it and bag it. In the primary, as the only conservative running in a field of five, she gathered about twenty-two percent of the vote and finished second. Her liberal progressive opponents split the balance four ways. Tomorrow she faces Joe Parisi who beat her in the primary by about 2600 votes.

UPDATE: It’s been brought to my attention that not only is our County Coroner an unelected civil servant, but also his job title is “Medical Examiner.” Perhaps that’s why more people associate “Sheriff” or “Clerk” with the word “County” than think of the word “Coroner.” Be that as it may, my original point still holds. Practically nobody associates “Eileen Bruskewitz” with “County Executive.”