USCF Election: Dark is the day

It is the logic of our times
No subject for immortal verse
That we who lived by honest dreams
Defend the bad against the worse.

We’re two months closer to the USCF election. The candidates have had two chances to present their cases in Chess Life, but from where I’m sitting little has changed. I gave more detail in my earlier post, but here’s the Cliffs Notes version.

Reasonable
Michael Atkins – Active TD in the MD-VA area. He’s shown a certain lack of restraint with regard to the USCF’s legal problems, but he’s qualified for the job.
Jim Berry – Coming off a two-year term. I am generally unenthusiastic about people running for re-election, but he’s done well enough.
Ruth Haring – Experienced player (she competed in the U.S. Women’s Championship a few times), excellent real-world credentials. A shot in the dark, but worth a try.

Marginal
Mike Nietman – I don’t know him well. Personally pleasant. Mainly a scholastic person, which is not a plus in my book but not disqualifying either.
Bill Goichberg – I wish I could rank him higher. I have enormous respect for Bill’s accomplishments, but he’s a lightning rod for controversy and he’s been on the Board too long. He’s served with honor; now he should step aside with honor.
Mikhail Korenman – He did a good job a few years ago with the “Karpov Chess School” in Lindsborg, Kansas, but his performance since then has been unimpressive. Seems to lack follow-through.
Eric Hecht – He was one of Blas Lugo’s backers for the Miami Open (see below). Unless he dissociates himself from that fiasco (which he hasn’t even tried to do yet), I have to rate him as unacceptable.

Awful
Blas Lugo – IM and tournament organizer from Florida. Only one problem, but it’s a big one – at last year’s Miami Open, he reneged on a guaranteed prize fund, shorting the players by several thousand dollars. If you’ve ever played in a tournament and expected to receive your prize, don’t vote for him.
Brian Mottershead & Brian Lafferty – A pair of nasty, backbiting trolls with zero knowledge or experience in chess, who think they should be able to start at the top. In a better year, their candidacies would be a joke. Let’s make it so.
Sam Sloan – Perpetual candidate. Serial and vexatious litigant. Ratbag of note. If you want to cast a protest vote, write in Mickey Mouse. He’d do a better job.