The 2010 Elections Special Assignment Wish Fairy has a special prayer for each candidate for sheriff:
•that Lenthall learn how to whiten his smile, own up about why he’s never married and why in more than 25 years as a cop he never made it past sergeant?
•that if Parkinson is elected, he find time to finish that college degree, if he’s not too busy pumping up for his Hannah Montana fan club appearances;
•that if Teixeira is elected, he can have his own aero squadron and fly his airplane any time he likes;
•that Cortez quit dissing the Sheriff’s Department if he’s elected and find a rich backer to pay for the two chickens he’s promised for every pot;
•that if Adams is elected, he finally gets his very own black-and-white car to take home;
•that Ben Hall drops that straight-shootin’ straight-talkin’ cloak of fiscal responsibility and start dishing up some good ol’ boy, fly-to-the-moon-with-me campaign promises.
This article appears in May 20-27, 2010.