Election “Day,” now lasting several weeks, has already started and ends next week at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 5. If you are voting by mail, you may have already put your completed ballot in either the mail or one of the handy County Elections official drop boxes.

I certainly hope you will join millions of Americans as we select local leaders and narrow the field for state and federal level offices.

Nationally, it seems to be a choice between two ideologies; one values individual achievement, a strong and enforceable international presence, secure borders, and a strong economic development strategy; the other relies on rewarding mediocrity, a demonstrated lack of international strength, and a poor economic track record.

For example, one candidate for Congress is proposing a $50 per hour minimum wage. Obviously, she hasn’t paid attention to history.

Every time the minimum wage is raised, many low-income workers are laid off, and the price of everything goes up. A minimum wage increase not only impacts lower-wage earners, it also trickles up to raise all other wages – the result is $50 fast food burgers and $25 a loaf bread.

Sound bites seem to control the debate as each side musters large contributions to put their message on the air and in your mailbox to bolster their identity.

Personally, I like to read local candidates’ ballot statements and consider them a more reliable indicator of what a person stands for than their carefully crafted campaign advertising.
 
Proposition 1 is on our ballot; read the language of the proposal in the Voters’ Guide you received carefully because in politics some things aren’t always what they seem.

Paid campaign advertising may contain inaccuracies so once again, take the time to read those ballot statements and your Voters Guide carefully; and I don’t mean just the summaries, you must pay attention to who is supporting the issue and who opposes it as well as the little details buried in the text.

I hope you do; some could cost you a lot of money, and others could seriously alter your life or worse yet make the problem Proposition 1 is trying to solve worse.

In the 3rd District the choice is between three individuals. One is a newcomer who is an internationally recognized financial expert, the incumbent, and the current mayor of Lompoc. Each has a message; one seems to have a huge treasure chest to try to prove she is the best choice; one has a mixed message on just how much revenue his economic proposal would raise; and the other is the only nonpartisan seeking this nonpartisan office in the race.

When choosing we should pay close attention to how they addressed the issues of the day. Each has submitted their ideas for public scrutiny, all promised to do better than the others, but which one had more substance to their argument or a record of achievement?

While it can sometimes be distracting and time consuming, questioning staff reports and bringing issues to light during government meetings is important.  The public is ill-served by an elected official who can’t identify issues or potential problems for their constituents with staff recommendations and provide alternative solutions.

Did you read the candidate responses to questions during the forums? In this primary there have been multiple candidate forums, and Noozhawk has done a commendable job covering several of them, including quotes from the candidates. You missed an opportunity to gauge the mindset of the candidates if you didn’t read these reports.

So, have you voted?  If you didn’t look the ballot over and study what is being proposed, make decisions, and vote then you have no right to complain following the election.

Reference:
Voters’ Guide: https://vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2024/primary/pdf/.