Lead Story

The Democratic Process

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Hey, they weren’t running for husband of the year: David Spellman was sworn in as mayor of Black Hawk, Colorado (population 178), in July, a week after pleading guilty to felony charges for beating his wife with a pistol. And four days before the California primaries in June, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Republican Jim Galley, a self-described “pro-traditional family” candidate for Congress, had in the 80s repeatedly defaulted on child-support payments and was for a 17-month period simultaneously married to his first and second wives. (He lost.)

Recent Notable Headlines

Pierre Barton, 20, was arrested for aggravated robbery in July after he allegedly tried to hold up the manager of a Cleveland pizza restaurant with a “gun” made of two sticks, some tape, and a piece of black fabric. According to police, Barton dropped the unconvincing weapon, picked up the cash register, and fled; the manager ran after him. During the chase two index cards fell to the ground that were later found to read “Give me the money” and “Tell I’ll kill your family.” As he ran, Barton, apparently a poor ad-libber, threatened to shoot the manager though he was no longer even nominally armed; the unfazed manager eventually caught him and held him until police arrived.

Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): illustration/Chuck Shepherd.