Happy Opportunity Day!
In case you’ve forgotten, procrastinated or declared your indifference, this is the day when you can get your two cents in about local governance.
Voting cannot possibly be made easier and still provide confidentiality and security, yet I encounter a surprising amount of people that cannot be bothered or have just “given up.” I somehow do not encounter the same amount of folks who are without opinion on the current state of things, however. “Others” must have been the source of our collective discontent.
We are the de facto government. No, I’m not talking about the seven of us who dress up and televise our little weekly clambake; I’m talking about all of us who have the opportunity to vote. We are empowered to determine the course of action in our states and country, and that effect is amplified in municipal elections. When we don’t exercise the privilege of choice, we turn over the keys to groups or organizations that may have other purposes than the general well-being of our city.
Whether you like or dislike status quo or the direction of current leadership, you have skin in this game. Speak out with your vote. It’s not someone else’s job to mark your future’s path.
Councilman Randy Rowse
Santa Barbara