I consider November the real beginning of the fall season because this is when God shows us His amazing artwork in New England.
It is also usually an election month. As I say, elections have consequences! We know that from the 80’s when Ronald Reagan was elected the president and put Reagenomics in place. They thought it would be a good idea to have corporations pay less in taxes so the profits would trickle down to the employees and to regular people. And trickle down they did. They’re still trickling! We see that in the auto workers strike where the executives at the top are making $11 million a day while the workers who are making the cars and working on them are struggling to pay their mortgages and put food on the table for their families.
Elections have consequences! We’re looking at a time in our city when we have the opportunity to have a change in administration. For the last almost two decades, we’ve had an administration that “only” honors those who, as Charles Stokes says, “Kiss the ring.” If you’re not in their good graces, don’t expect anything from them.
Elected officials shouldn’t be that way. They serve the entire population who elected them and even those who didn’t. In the city of Springfield, usually there’s around a 10% voting rate. That means that 10% of the population make the decisions for 100% of the people. As elected officials, we serve the entire city. We don’t ask people if they voted for us. We don’t ask if they voted (I wish I could) when they have a problem. We, as elected officials, are supposed to respond and try to help them with their issue, if possible.
It’s time for us to have an administration who will listen to all of the constituents not just those who have money and not just those who support them. Make your choice on November 7 for Mayor and for City Council. You have five (5) at large city council votes and one (1) ward vote. The one ward vote depends on where you live but you can vote for five at large city council candidates at your discretion. I would love to see the voting rate increase. If you have any ideas on how to do that, please reach out. What if the election commission was responsible for the voter rate of turnout?
Elections have consequences! This is an opportunity for us to make serious changes in our city so let’s do that on November 7. My choice for Mayor is Justin Hurst. I recommend Jose Delgado, Tracye Whitfield and Juan (Jay) La Torre III for three of the five at large City Council seats. Vote for me if you live in Ward 8 and let’s see what consequences come from this election. ■