Who Left The Gate Open?

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January 16, 2014

For the West Palm Beach City Commission race, the qualifying period came and left on January 14th, 2014 at noon with no one qualifying to challenge incumbent Commissioners, Kimberly Mitchell, Shanon Materio and Sylvia Moffett for the Districts 3, 5 & 1 seats. Not only locally but all over the country, incumbents, for any number of elected positions, are facing no opposition and largely because of voter apathy, due to the corrupt climate and ill will that is common place in political arenas everywhere.

The disappointment  in elected officials and distrust of them by hard working  tax payers tends to beat down the public into a submission of apathy and eventually a total disengagement from voting or even showing an interest in a government that is theirs. Oppression that cannot be overcome, does not give rise to revolt but to submission and that is the sad and current state of the mindset of the masses when It comes to politics.

By voting we hope to, at least, communicate some of our preferences for government policy through our selection of leaders. Elections are suppose to be a contest among a number of individuals and groups to shape government policy. How well elections work as instruments of democracy and whether the public benefits from the contest, depends on election rules and who participates. Qualification requirements may be a hindrance to prospective candidates and deceitful coercion in many ways by career politicians can also discourage decent and well intended individuals from entering the too often, underhanded political arena.

When there is no opposition and an incumbent slides back into office, did they really win an election?  When only 5,000 registered voters, out of tens of thousands vote, and the winner received 59% of the votes which equates to 2,950 votes, is that really a landslide over two other candidates who only got 20% but only 5,000 citizens voted?  Is It morally sound to think one is entitled to a victory dance when only a miniscule percentage of the public even bothers to  cast a ballot?  Sure we have declared winners but are they really the choice of the masses? Through education, there can be a substantial reduction in voter apathy which will bring more participation into the voting process and will subsequently depict a more accurate reflection of the public’s choice as oppose to candidates only winning by default.