AN OPEN LETTER TO ANYONE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE:
Look around you. It doesn’t matter where you live in this valley; just look around.
Are you pleased with what you see? If your answer is “Yes,” then vote to retain it. If “No,” vote to improve it. No matter the answer, please vote.
It’s useless any more to employ the same guilt trips utilized every time voter turnout is embarrassingly low as the statistics revealed in November when less than 10 percent of Ohio County’s registered voters showed up to cast ballots for or against the renewal levy for Ohio County Schools.
But hey, reality is reality.
- More than 2 million military members have been killed in the line of duty to preserve our right to vote;
- Females and African Americans fought against chauvinists and racists for decades to be included in the process;
- About half of Americans eligible to vote register to do so, and only half of those folks show up at polling places. That means, in the end, about 25 percent of the population makes the decision for the other 75 percent;
- Yes, your vote counts! Charlie Ballouz, now running a ninth time to represent Wheeling’s Ward 2, lost in 2016 by a single vote.
- If you don’t vote, you really can’t bitch about things like potholes, public safety buildings, user fees, or dilapidated properties in your neighborhood.
Ohio’s primary election is scheduled for March 17, and West Virginia’s is set for May 12, and both ballots will include many more races other than the Republican and Democratic options on federal and state levels. In Wheeling, in fact, the municipal election will take place as all six wards and the mayor’s position will be up for grabs for the first time since 2016. Thus far, Mayor Glenn Elliott has not announced a re-election bid, but that hasn’t stopped Chris Hamm and Jerry Jacobs from registering as candidates for the position. The filing deadline is January 18.
So, what is it you see?
Sincerely,
People Who Can Bitch
