There's something going on in Florida - I voted here today

Sometimes you walk out in your front yard and you see this, when you live in Florida.

I live in Alachua County, Florida, just outside of the city of Gainesville. Gainesville is where the University of Florida is. Sports fans may have heard of it.

Alachua County is one of only a handful of counties in Florida that is reliably blue. I’m here to tell you, though, blue in Florida doesn’t mean what it means in other states.

Anyway, we had an election today, and the voters changed everything. One of our longest serving county commissioners, who is not at all warm or charming but is brilliant at making the commission think before acting, was ousted by a long term progressive activist whom I respect. Also, our white female sheriff who had done, I would say, an amazingly good job being her 4’10” self and commanding statewide respect from the male dominated law enforcement community, was replaced by a black male sheriff with a long history of social justice advocacy whom I also trust will do a good job.

I didn’t vote for either of those winners, but I am more than okay that they won. I’d be lying if I said the change isn’t a little unsettling, but I know I had the rare luxury of voting for my favorites among really, really good candidates. I struggled with my vote, and I’m psyched for our future.  

When I went to the polls today, I was surprised at the turnout for a local election, and the greeter lady told me that turnout was unusually high and she’d seen more 18, 19, and 20 year olds voting than she ever had. I’m hoping that’s a good portent for November. This is Florida, right? Every single vote matters.