Election Day is tomorrow. At least in my neck of the woods it feels calm in comparison to last year. Our ballot is local offices only, City Council and School Committee. No ballot initiatives, no state/federal elections. And unlike the last election, there are almost NO contested elections citywide. Our seven wards have one candidate each, I utterly ADORE my ward candidate, and cannot WAIT to have her in office! Our four at-large seats have exactly that many candidates, all of whom are running for reelection and I’m happy to be able to vote for all of them.
Our School Committee race is the only contested one — we have four candidates running for three seats. Two are incumbents, and two are newcomers. It is abundantly clear to me and most of the rest of the city that both incumbents have done great jobs last term and deserve to be reelected. Of the two newcomers, one is a mom whose kids attend the local public schools and who speaks passionately about what she sees as issues most important to our district. The other’s entire answer to the question of what he sees as top issues:
The most critical issue in today’s [city] schools is maintaining the educational core values in science, math (down 16 per cent last year [2020]) and technology. Any introduction of new courses into the curriculum must be scrutinized by the teachers, parents and administration.
We all know what that last sentence is REALLY about, don’t we?
Turnout is expected to be very, very light. But yours truly will be at our centralized polling place no later than 6am tomorrow to don her “Ward Clerk” badge and make sure that everyone who presents themselves and is eligible to vote, does. I first signed up to work on Election Day last year because I was worried the elderly people who usually staff each year were at risk for COVID, and I loved it. Yes, it’s a long long day (I’ll get home around 10pm) but making sure that democracy goes off without a hitch is worth the long hours and lack of sleep.
What’s your plan for tomorrow? Is there an election where you live this year? If so, have you already voted early or by mail, or will you go to the polls? Have you ever helped by working at a polling place? I’d love to hear your experience, although I must be honest, I will be heading to sleep fairly early because if I want breakfast (read: coffee!) AND a shower, I gotta get up before 5am.
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TOP COMMENTS
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yet another liberal highlighted this comment by culhwtch, from Hunter’s World leaders are again meeting to decide our climate fate. It's hard to feel optimistic
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, October 31st 2021, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
TOP PICTURES
Top Pictures for yesterday, October 31st 2021. Click any picture to be taken to the full comment or picture. Thank you to the wonderful dKos staff who made it possible to continue this feature in memory of jotter!
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