Small Town News

Forget the Ds and Rs and vote for the (wo)man

---

You can tell the election is just around the corner. What with all the mud slinging, name calling, back peddling, lying and denial commercials on the television and radio, who could not know about it.

What continues to amaze me is how few folks actually know who they are voting for.

I was told about it, then did a little research of my own. It seems that a County Clerk, in one of the northern mid-west states, neglected to tell the business that printed their ballots which candidates were Democrat and which were Republican. Because of that little mistake there was no D or R after the candidates name on the voting ballots.

You would think that, in a small rural county much like ours, the omission would not make much difference in a local election. It was not a national, even statewide election, just a little local election for the county. The voters probably knew most of the candidates anyway. If not, they probably knew someone that did know a particular candidate running for the position or office. Kind of like things are around here. Everyone knows everyone or knows someone that does know everyone, so what would be the big deal.

The voters were outraged, there was no D or R after the candidates names. They did not know who to vote for! Do you vote for John Doe because he has a D or R after his name on the ballot? Or do you vote for Jane Doe instead for the same reason? If that's the case let's save our tax money spent on printing ballots by eliminating the candidates names -just have a D or R under the county position for the voters to check.

Which candidate for county clerk do we vote for? Look for the D or R.

Why waste the money for ink if nobody looks at the names anyway. It would work the same for county commissioners, sheriff, mayor, town council - all elected positions. Think about how easy our ballots would be if the only choice we had was candidate D or candidate R. It seems like that is the way most people vote anyway so why not make it simple for them.

I have one problem with that idea though. I want to know what my elected officials think. I want to know where thev stand on issues important to my community, county, state and country. I want to know if they want to reduce government spending, balance our budget, state and national, cut my taxes.

I want to know what they think. Only then can I make an informed decision as to who I want taking care of our business.

I have never, ever, voted for a party. I vote for the person. I would have no problem at all with a ballot that had names only, no R or D anywhere on it. No Republicans or Democrats on the ballot, just the names of the people running for the position. Then I can vote for the person I think would be best for the job.

Just look at how broke our state is. Our elected officials are going to have to scramble to pass a balanced budget next year. Look at how far our country is in debt. How many trillions do we owe to foreign countries like China? All because of inept politicians who keep getting elected by voters that only see a D or R on the ballot.

It's time to wake up folks. We are in serious financial trouble, and we need to elect serious people that have the guts to solve the problems our state and country have right now. And a candidate with a D or R after their name will not mean anything to me when I go to the voting booth in November.



Copyright 2010 De Baca County News, Fort Sumner, New Mexico. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2011 De Baca County News Fort Sumner, New Mexico. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

More from De Baca County News