We’ve been eating a lie. A lie that makes our pockets lighter, our communities more divided, our children’s futures more bleak. For as long as I can remember we’ve been told that voting for the “other” means we are a traitor to our values, no matter how far down on the ballot the vote may be. But as I research candidates, and look into the issues that matter to me, I become more convinced that partisan politics do not make us better – they make us less informed.
When we divide ourselves into the RED and BLUE teams on a national level, we forget that what really matters to us happens a lot closer to home and has a lot less to do with the issues that divide us. The issues that matter to us most closely, we have the most control over – good schools, safe streets, economic opportunity. Those issues are most notably impacted by our local officials – and our local elections.
The men and women we elect in low ballot votes have enormous impact on how our county is run and how our tax dollars are spent. Just look at the County Commissioners. For an annual salary of $62,675 they are expected to “Set the yearly property tax rate and approve the budget and employment level for the county.” These men literally decide where our county tax dollars go. In conjunction with the County Judge, the county commissioners make up the Commissioner’s Court, which (according to the last organizational chart I could access on the court’s website) is responsible for TWENTY-ONE different county departments including:
Veterans Service
Indigent Health Care
Child Welfare Board
Child Protection Court
Emergency Management
But how often are we looking closely at these local candidates? How are we holding them accountable? The County Commissioners spend our tax dollars, and so many people don’t even know what they do. What about all of the other local officials who impact our day to day life?
We MUST stop relying solely on our pre-established political pedestals when we vote in local elections. Our county is not getting better when we check the ALL DEMOCRAT or ALL REPUBLICAN boxes. Our duty to our community is to look at the individual running, ask questions of them, evaluate their platform and availability, and, if they are an incumbent, we need to ask ourselves if they're worth reelecting. Partisan politics does not make Wichita County better. Electing the right person for the job, no matter what team they represent, is what brings quality leadership in government.
