Elections In Sanford

The elections in Sanford are concluding today and I, for one, am glad! I cringe a little when I see all the name calling and finger pointing that elections tend to bring out! I like to focus on the issues and what a candidate can do for me and the things I feel are important.

I’ve said before in this blog that I don’t talk about politics in public and, although I do want to talk about politics in general, I’m not going to use this post to discuss any specific candidates or the way my vote fell (I voted on Saturday, so “fell” is accurate – not “going to fall”, as it would be if I hadn’t voted yet —- can you tell I was an English major in high school?). But I do want to comment about me and the process I go through during election time. I’m not a hard core party person – I don’t think that voting for someone SOLELY because they represent a particular party or because of their gender or because of where they come from is the right thing to do – note I said “SOLELY” – I do admit that these things do come into play and sometimes sway the vote one way or the other if all things are equal or a tie breaking element is needed. I am a registered Republican, but don’t necessarily always vote Republican – I do tend to think a little more “conservative” on most issues, but that isn’t set in stone, either! I sit on the fence!!!! I don’t keep charts to track my voting habits, but in a very unscientific reflection of past years, I think you could safely say I am an equal opportunity voter! I should probably change my registration to “Unaffiliated”, but that’s a different thought.

Like I said, I sit on the fence – then I watch and listen – then I pick the candidate who I think, from what I’ve seen and heard, best reflects what I think about the issues that mean the most to me – then I cast my vote for that person! Isn’t that what Democracy and the election process is supposed to look like? Isn’t that what EVERYONE should do? I never quite understood the “straight ticket” option — what are the odds that EVERY candidate in a certain party is on the same wave length as you on EVERY issue? I believe that it is possible and there are some instances where that may be true – but I would think it is more the exception than the rule. So, why aren’t there more people on that fence with the rest of us “wafflers” waiting to see who the best candidate is rather than jumping on a party affiliation?

The downfall of sitting on that fence and watching and listening, though, is that when the campaigning turns to finger pointing and name calling, it is hard to sort through it all to see where a candidate stands on those issues that mean the most to me. My thought is — campaigns should focus on what the candidate plans to do and what their thoughts are on their main issues – then everyone can get a clear picture of where the candidates stand on the issues moving forward and more people can get on that fence and vote based on the issues and which candidate will perform the way they want a candidate to perform — not just vote based SOLELY on party affiliation because the “party” usually backs the issue the way they would want it backed – what if the candidate in that party doesn’t think the way of the party on the one issue that means the most to you, but you don’t get to find that out cause they never really come out and say it in the campaign?????????

Just my thoughts —- vote your conscience and it’ll be the right vote for you —- that’s all that matters!!!!