The election is over. The celebrating has started. The signs dotting our median strips and along our roads will now quickly disappear. Both new and old officials will be sworn in. And with a few subtle changes yet to be determined, our lives will go on.
Undoubtedly, the turnout was modest. Most people forget, do not realize there is an election, or just do not care. Yet, each vote makes a difference. How do I know? I spent my time yesterday evening (from 4:30 – 7:00 PM) at Bristow Run Precinct (in the Brentsville District). I was there passing out sample ballots for the Republican Party, and I was not alone. There were at least eight other people present including Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Notables included:
- Pierce R. Homer, Virginia’s Secretary of Transportation — Homer passed out campaign literature for Senator Colgan. Homer diligently told every voter to vote for Colgan.
- School Board Member Milt Johns — Even though he is running unopposed to be our School Board’s Chairman, Johns stood patiently in the chilling cold talking to voters and passing out Republican sample ballots.
- Candidate Gil Trenum — In his quest to become Brentsville District’s Member on the School Board, Trenum sought every last possible vote by passing out campaign flyers and sample ballots.
The others present included one candidate’s wife, another’s daughter, and several people I do not know. Why were they there?
Of course, some of you will just shrug. Because they know or are related to one of the candidates, you will say all these people had personal reasons for being there. You would suggest you have no such reason. However, that is not strictly true. We each have personal reasons for participating in politics. Some of us just do not admit that fact, not even to ourselves.
Every election is important, and this year’s was no exception. The entire General Assembly and every member of both the Board of County Supervisors (BOCS) and the School Board was up for reelection. These people run our schools, build and maintain our roads, decide how we license professionals, regulate businesses, and on and on and on. The people on the ballot also included the Sheriff, the Commonwealth Attorney, and the Clerk of Court. If you do not know what those people do, you should learn.
Even if we limited the size and scope of our government more appropriately, it would a huge operation. As it is, each day each of us is affected by government in countless ways. Just the fact the government regulates trade means that every product you own and use is some way affected by decisions made by politicians and the regulators they appoint.
For an honest politician, there is not much money in politics. The salaries earned by professional people easily exceed what we pay members of the General Assembly and the BOCS. What we pay School Board members, a thousand a month, few Virginians are willing to live on. Yet because people care, people become involved. If you do not even care enough to vote, you should be looking in the mirror asking why.
