Just Stuff

By GARY ARRINGTON Sports writer

If you write about politics, you are asking for trouble. Although it has been said more than once that I am a slow learner, I am working on improving in this area. This column is not so much about politics but it is more about the election process and why we do what we do.
Voting in this country is a basic, fundamental right for all. Although it did take awhile for all to share in this right, today every person that meets the minimum requirements is afforded this privilege.
I believe with this privilege comes responsibility. I believe that we have the responsibility not only to vote but also to vote responsibly. We have an obligation to know the issues and the candidates. That is my issue today.
In the 2008 presidential election, this country got caught up in the issue of hope and change. While it is still unclear to me what we were hoping for or what the change would be, hope and change were clearly the items that drove that election. That mantra brought many new people into the voting booths, mainly the young. That more people voted was good for this country but it appears to be a short-lived phenomena.
This month, two governor’s elections were held back east in New Jersey and Virginia. While those who got elected were newsworthy, the lack of voters was also newsworthy. Specifically the lack of young voters. Where were they? Why did they stay away? From all appearances it was due to the fact that these elections did not have glitz. Responsibility?
Here in Emery County, we also had an election. It was not glamorous but it was necessary to continue the day-to-day operations of an entity that we all use each and every day. That entity is the Castle Valley Special Service District.
The CVSSD, this is much easier for me to write, provides our drinking water, our secondary water, our sewers, our curb and gutters and our streets. To maintain and improve each of these items takes money, lots and lots of money, and almost 40 percent of us voted to not fund the CVSSD. Unbelievable.
This is a really easy subject to understand. We, as homeowners, pay a little bit while the power plants here in the county pay almost nine times as much. Did you get that? We the homeowner pay only a small fraction. The CVSSD then receives grants from the Community Impact Board for almost as much as the power plants contribute. For our small share, we get lots and lots of money, which then allows us to have improved lifestyles. What were the no votes thinking?
The last item is the elections in Huntington. There were about 500 votes cast in the mayoral race. In the city council elections there were only about 800 votes cast for two people. Where were the rest of the votes? If you have people running for city council unopposed, would you not expect the vote tally to be double the mayoral vote count? I do for some reason.
In fact neither candidate in this election, and these candidates had no opposition, came close to getting the number of votes cast for mayor and the two candidates themselves were a hundred votes off from each other. Strange indeed.
We, the voters in this city, in this county, in this country need to vote but we need to vote responsibly. We have a privilege that all in the world do not have. We need to do it wisely.