By Woodrow Wilcox
Many people in Lake County advocate “VOTE STRAIGHT DEMOCRAT!”
But, isn’t that how Lake County got into such a mess that it is in now?
FOR DECADES, MANY PEOPLE HAVE VOTED “STRAIGHT DEMOCRAT”
AND WHAT DID IT GET US?
It got us lots of politicians who robbed from the public treasuries until they got caught and sent to jail.
It got us a rotten tax assessment system that favored political cronies and hurt other citizens which caused the rest of the state to force the county to pay millions of dollars to outside companies to assess Lake County property.
It got us Democrat state legislators who voted for the laws that caused the huge property tax increases in North Township and Calumet Township.
In Hammond, voting straight Democrat got a mayor and a city council who gave millions of dollars in tax breaks to real estate developers and corporations, but no real property tax relief for homeowners or small businesses in Hammond.
In Hammond, voting straight Democrat got a mayor and city council who cancelled funding of the Hammond Health Department that provided free or low cost medical services for Hammond’s elderly and poor residents.
In Gary, voting straight Democrat got a mayor named “Slot” King who made a sweetheart deal with a casino company that benefited the casino company more than Gary. Then, “Slot” King quit his almost $200,000 per year job as mayor of Gary to go to work for the casino company so that he could make more money.
Here is my point: VOTING STRAIGHT DEMOCRAT NEVER SOLVED ANY PROBLEM FOR THE CITIZENS OF LAKE COUNTY.
So, what is the right thing to do? What is the SMART thing to do?
Some of my relatives and friends have been state legislators. I’ve listened to them over the years. Here is what I believe the SMART thing to do is and why.
VOTE FOR THE BEST CANDIDATE IN EVERY SINGLE RACE REGARDLESS OF THE CANDIDATE’S POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT MAKES EACH PARTY STRIVE TO OFFER BETTER CANDIDATES AND GIVE MORE ATTENTION AND SUPPORT FOR SOLVING COMMUNITY PROBLEMS.
Vanderburgh County is an excellent example of what I mean. Years ago, that county voted “straight Democrat”. So, when the Democrats controlled state politics, the Democrats ignored that county and its problems. The Democrats took the county’s voters for granted. When the voters started voting for either Democrats or Republicans, both the Democrats and the Republicans in office started competing for helping that county with state funds and programs. That county is better now because most voters in that county will vote for either Democrats or Republicans and that forces both parties to offer better candidates.
The same thing can happen for Lake County if enough voters will stop wasting their votes on straight party voting and start doing the smart thing of voting for the best candidate in each race regardless of political party affiliation. So, vote for Democrats and Republicans who are great candidates – especially in local elections because the issues are not national or state issues – they’re local issues!
DON’T WASTE YOUR VOTE ON STRAIGHT PARTY TICKETS!
VOTE SMART BY VOTING FOR THE BEST CANDIDATE IN EACH RACE!
THAT IS THE WAY TO GET BOTH MAJOR PARTIES TO REALLY PAY ATTENTION TO OUR COMMUNITY’S PROBLEMS AND NEEDS.
© 2007 Woodrow Wilcox