Is the Tribune going to endorse?

Awhile back, I wondered if a glowing article about Claudia Walters from East Valley Tribune's Jim Ripley was an early hint at who the Trib was going to endorse. Then, today, I see that Ripley has now published an article about Scott Smith giving him some rather glowing praise. I was asking a friend of mine about this issue today and he reminded me that the Tribune typically does not endorse candidates. I had totally missed that point. Is that true? Are they not going to officially weigh in on one of the most important elections in the past 20 years of Mesa?

Anyway, the story that Ripley tells about Smith is pretty interesting. It takes the wind out of the sails of those rumblings you hear about him being a "millionaire developer" sounds like he had to work pretty hard for his money. I also thought the Palo Verde tree discussion was hilarious because its just the kind of things that shows why people have no confidence in the city to make decisions.