Exercising my civic responsibility

I've been a registered voter for almost 20 years. I distinctly remember the first presidential election I voted in, when Bill Clinton was elected in 1992. I took the first few elections very seriously, really learning as much as I could about the issues and candidates. Then, life sort of got in the way and I became a bit complacent. My votes ended up being for those whose names sounded the best, or whose titles seemed to give them experience and expertise to fulfill an elected position.

This year, however, my feelings about voting changed. There has been a hotly contested school board election in the small town where our children attend school. Two seats are up for grabs in a three-person panel. Four candidates are running. The two incumbents have done great things for the school, bringing it from country bumpkin to a strong academic status. But in a small town, there is also the chance for a few disgruntled folks to really stir things up. Rumors and untruths have been circulating among residents, only a few of which have students at the school. These rumors and misinformation led two community members to put their name in the hat for a seat on the board, and their platforms are such that the school stands a good chance of being literally dismantled if they win.

On paper, these two candidates appear highly qualified. One is a former principal/superintendent of the school, serving more than 16 years as the leader of this one-school district. The other is a former school board member and high powered executive.

The most frustrating part for me, is that because we live just outside the city limits, we are unable to vote in this election. Only 15% of the students in the school reside in town, the remaining 85% of the students come from neighboring cities and school districts. But only residents of the town where the school is located have voting privileges.

As I've watched the campaigning over the last couple of months and seen how important it is to make a fact-based decision, my need to be an informed voter grew. When it came time to cast our votes, Steve and I took the time to read candidate statements and both sides of issues and propositions. I was a bit surprised...some of my initial thoughts on who I would vote for changed as I read about the candidates' experience and priorities.

Now it's time to sit back and watch the votes come in. I'm anxious to see the local results as well as statewide results. Above all, I'm anxiously waiting on the school board election, which has the potential to drastically impact the environment in which my children spend most of their days. And I sincerely hope that all 700+/- voters in the small town will take the same initiative as I did, and not base their votes on appearances or the sound of a name, but will dig a little deeper and vote on what is best for the school.