I cast a number of votes this morning, two enthusiastically, one with somewhat mixed feelings, and a half dozen more of the more mundane variety.
The enthusiastic votes were for Joanne Kloppenburg for supreme court and Hillary Clinton for Democratic party presidential nominee.
The one I have mixed feelings over is the one I cast for me in what will be my fourth reelection campaign. I believe that local government is important and I am proud to serve, but six years of Scott Walker have made the job much harder, as he and his fellow Republicans in the legislature have severely curtailed the powers of local government. We are continually asked to do as much or more for our citizens as we have in past years with fewer and fewer state resources, while simultaneously having our ability to raise funds locally greatly reduced—the legislature has eviscerated the powers of local governments to control taxation.
In addition, in my county we have chosen to make the job of county board supervisor very much a part time citizen legislator position. I think there’s a lot to be said for doing things this way, but it means that the bulk of my time is devoted to my career—I’m a science fiction author,* a job I adore—and I have to carve out the hours needed for my elected duties. I continue to be willing to do so for the same reason that I agreed to become a county board supervisor in the first place. When our former supervisor died in office and they offered me the job, I looked around and realized I was the most liberal available candidate, and I that needed to put my time and effort in service of my values.
This morning I got up early to vote before the students who come rolling in in moderate numbers after nine, and will likely be lined up out the door at lunch. At eight, things were very quiet and my wife and I were voters number six and seven—typically we’re in the first ten, sometime after our next door neighbors, the former dean of the college of education and the former head of the library—usually one and two—and the former dean of students and his wife, a former county board supervisor—typically three and four.
In case it wasn’t obvious, I live in a college town and represent a college ward in my county—ninety percent of my constituents are students. In presidential years, voting at my local polling place, a student commons, can be a very crowded business once the students get rolling. In the early hours and in off year voting things are very different. In a spring election with no major primary on the ballot we might see no more than twenty or thirty voters over the whole day. That latter needs to change if we want to make real progress on liberal legislation because we need to be contesting every office at every level and creating the candidates we will need for higher office in the future.
Today I have been using the megaphone I am granted by being an author with a moderate social media presence to push for people to get out and vote for supreme court, as that is the most important election in our state today. My mantra for the day is solely: Turnout. Turnout. Turnout. I would like to see Hillary Clinton win our primary and I am genuinely pleased to have the chance to vote for her, but if 50,000 extra students come out to vote for Bernie Sanders and swamp her I will see that as a reasonable trade if they also push Kloppenburg over the line.
*My work is largely published by Feiwel and Freinds/Macmillan—books for younger readers—and Penguin Random House/ACE—fantasy novels for teens on up. For those who want more information on my books you can go to my website.
ETA: I’m running unopposed, so, barring something very strange happening, I’m on the hook for another two years starting tomorrow.
ETA 4/6/16: In case anyone checks in later, I won. 330 to 0.
