Shameful Participation

I was trying to prepare for the radio station’s coverage of the upcoming elections on November 6^th.

And here were my two conclusions as I scanned the sample ballot…

Shame on you and shame on both political parties in Wayne County.

Shame on you because this ballot is totally devoid of local participation.

Wayne County clerk, no challenger..County treasurer, no challenger…County Sheriff, no challenger, County Supervisor of Assessments, no challenger…County Board districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7…..all unopposed. This isn’t an election, it’s a coronation. 

Not that the incumbents are doing a bad job, but this is ridiculous. In fact, I know many are doing a wonderful job, but the lack of participation in this election is an indictment.

We have abdicated our right to criticize the operation of Wayne County Government.

Next, shame on the Democrats and Republicans here. You can’t recruit a single solitary person to throw their hat in the ring of any of the open eleven seats in this county? That’s shameful.  That recruitment process should be ongoing…But it clearly doesn’t happen here. So it leaves one guy named “no candidate” to run over and over and over.

Fortunately, there are a few races to add some relevance to election day. There’s the Governor’s race. I hope it’s at least close. There’s the state representative race between Darren Bailey and Cynthia Given….and a bunch of judicial retention races that don’t include recognizable names.

A democracy requires participation. In Wayne County, we haven’t answered the bell.