Wait to Vote and Celebrate Davis!

There is a trend in electoral politics afoot… early voting.  More and more voters are opting to have their ballots sent to them in the mail.  Acting accordingly, the political consultants are all telling their candidates (and Proposition campaign teams) that Election Day started on Monday.  In fact, I actually did receive my absentee ballot in the mail on Monday… but, I haven’t opened it yet.  Why?  I haven’t made all of my decisions yet and don’t want to commit to candidates or issues that I’m not completely sold on.  Does this line of thinking change the political landscape? You betcha.  The more we pay attention and the later we return our ballots, the more time we have to really get to know the candidates and the issues… and the less sure the consultants are as to when and how to spend those campaign war chests.

It's OK to hold your ballot... just in case skeletons come dancing out of closets.

Will I advise you to do this every election?  Probably, but this election is very different.  Current candidates, both local and statewide, are less known than any election in recent history.  For the Davis City Council, we have no incumbents running.  Indeed, none of the five candidates have a voting record that we can judge.  So, we must watch the forums, read their position statements and take the time out of our busy lives to actually meet our potential leaders in person… opportunities abound for more knowledge, but in this small town it’s the personal touch that counts.

Luckily for you, our good friends at Davis Media Access are covering most of the public forums as part of its local election coverage. More information/programming is available by clicking HERE.

I suggest that you start at the beginning with the Chamber of Commerce forum that was held over a month ago.  Then, watch as much as you can leading up to the League of Women Voters forum.  Watching this progression will allow you to judge for yourself just how consistent the candidates are and what they’ve learned along the way.

While you’re doing your homework, we’ll start unleashing a more complete coverage over the next two weeks including some Q&A with the candidates.  Now, since I’ve given you leave to put your ballot down for another two or three weeks (you can always deliver your ballot on Election Day) how about enjoying some family time with the community… topped with fireworks?  Celebrate Davis! is happening this evening from 4:30pm to 9:00pm at Community Park.

Celebrate Davis! is an annual free community-wide festival held by the Davis Chamber of Commerce. Visit community businesses and organizations at their booths, buy dinner, enjoy live music, and watch fireworks at 9PM. Parking near Celebrate Davis is very hard to find and there is free valet bike parking, so definitely consider biking tonight!