Election 2004

Let's start with politics. Hopefully, everyone who is eligible has registered to vote. I believe today was the deadline in my state. Some states allow a few more days, so be sure and check with your local board of elections to determine your local deadline.

After watching the debate on Thursday, I am convinced that I will be voting for John Kerry for President. Local politics, however, may leave me a little more wiggle room for candidates. Don't get me wrong, national politics are extremely important and voting is crucial, especially after what happened in 2000. The local question, however, is a little more essential to our everyday. Whether it be school board, city council, zoning board or state legislature, these elections will affect us in equally important ways. Our local officials will decide where our children will attend public school, how much we will pay in property, ad valorem, and sales taxes, and whether we will have new sewer and water systems, road improvements, or a hotel or strip club in our backyard.

My point is, don't get so caught up in the hype of the national elections that you miss out on the local picture. Read you local newspaper, watch your local television news channels and talk shows (yes, turn off CNN, Headline, Fox News, and all those other cable news networks) to see what is happening in your own community. Talk to local candidates at "stump meets" (yes, that's what we call them here in the South - if you're not from here, you probably call them "forums" or something equally trendy) or talk to them when they show up at your door (and they might). Although party affiliation is very important on the national level, you will find that it means less and less in local elections, so don't assume a local candidate's position without doing the research. You may be members of different parties, but when it comes down to that strip club going up next to your property, you might have more in common with that candidate of the other party than you think.

Vote. I can't say it any more eloquently. It is a complete sentence with a subject and a predicate. Vote.