I hope by the time you read this article that you’ve exercised
your duty as a Gilroy resident (and registered voter) to have voted
in our local election for the offices of mayor and City Council
member.
I hope by the time you read this article that you’ve exercised your duty as a Gilroy resident (and registered voter) to have voted in our local election for the offices of mayor and City Council member.
Sample ballots were mailed to registered voters at least a month in advance of the election. An absentee voter ballot application was included, and it even gave the addressee the option to become a “permanent absentee” voter. So there seems to be little excuse for not voting if you qualify to vote. If you’ve voted, congratulations for performing your duty. If you’ve not voted, the polls are open to 8 p.m. And if you don’t care about voting, then shame on you, because that kind of an attitude reflects a dangerous complacency, so common in today’s culture of being “too busy.” And if you’re not a registered voter, then shame on you too, because you’ve given up one of your important rights as a United States citizen.
Lots of Gilroy people whine and gripe about their city government and yet don’t invest (yes invest) the time to investigate the positions of candidates before an election, or attend meetings where the candidates can be asked questions, or contact a candidate with questions. As The Dispatch said in an article dated June 25, “Elections are all about choice.” Since that June article, a lot has been discussed, rehashed and debated over the key issues facing Gilroy residents in the coming months.
And as the same article went on to say “the important issues Gilroyans have to consider – from retail incentives to downtown revitalization, from joining the county’s Open Space Authority to the police station price tag, from staffing a third fire station to relationships with the school district – will engage citizens and send them scurrying to their polling places this November.”
Let’s hope that tomorrow’s turnout numbers for this election show that there was in fact a “scurrying” of Gilroy voters, and the article was prophetic.
Now if you’re a person who refused to vote because you did not like any of the candidates, then maybe it’s time to consider becoming a candidate yourself, or finding a local friend, relative, or acquaintance that you think would make a good City Council member and encouraging them to enter the next local election. One’s occupation or social status should not be the criteria to determine one’s desire to run.
Consider that in this election we had a “student” running for mayor, and a “grocery clerk” running for City Council member. Remember however, there is parallel truth in the old saying that “you get what you pay for” and the political truism that you “get what you vote for.” Now I’m referring here about intrinsic quality, not political payola.
And of course, there are other benefits now that the election is over. Now all the political signs can be taken down from fences and removed from yards and fields. While some diehard supporters will probably keep up the signs of their losing candidate(s) in their yards for some days after the election just to show defiance, it’s time to move on and support the candidates who won. Each of them deserves a chance to succeed.
And for the winning candidates, now comes the business of getting down to business. Now comes the time when campaign promises give way to action. Now comes the time when the “rubber” of rhetoric hits the “road” of reality. Now comes the time for the newly elected mayor and City Council members to remember that as elected officials, they have a public trust committed to them. And that trust is just as important here in Gilroy as it is in Sacramento or in Washington.
It’s too bad that so many politicians disregard the value of “trust” in the political arena. I’ll compare the value of trust to the story of Humpty Dumpty, the egg-man of the children’s poem. As the original version goes, Humpty, while sitting on the wall, fell off, and unfortunately broke into many pieces upon hitting the ground. Now while some would argue that Humpty was pushed and didn’t fall by his own error, the point is that even in the revised story where Humpty was glued back together again, he was just not the same egg. And so it is with trust. Break it, and even if it’s established again, it’s never like it was originally. That’s true in marriage, business relationships, and even politics. So election winners, congratulations! Now show us that just as you promised, we can trust you.
James Fennell was in corporate management for over 25 years, and now is a local realtor. He and his wife have lived in Gilroy for three years. He can be reached at je*******@*****ch.com. His column is published each Tuesday.
