The Election You Probably Knew Little About

Bell tower and front entrance to the building
of fire district one in Martinsville.  To vote
here, follow the downward sloping driveway
to the right of the bell tower, and enter from
the back parking lot.  (Bergeron Image.)

Many times, Pris and I have intermittently gone out on a Saturday to cast our votes in the local fire district election.  In question is the budget for individual fire districts and their commissioners.

There has never been significant publicity about these elections.  Few people know that they even occur.  It is an event that simply is not promoted to the general public.

That is why, when I sat down this morning with a cup of coffee and the print edition of the Courier News, I was so very pleased to see two-thirds of the front page devoted entirely to “Fire District Elections [this] Saturday,”  large photo – the whole bit.

The explanatory article by Sergio Bichao of the Courier News is an excellent public service, is specifically informative, and its prominent position in the newspaper is evidence – thank goodness – that there is more to the news than merely sex and gore.

Donkey, Elephant, or Independent?

I received a letter in this afternoon’s mail from the Somerset County Commissioner, Anthony DeCicco, acknowledging a request to change my party affiliation back to ‘Unaffiliated.’ A few weeks ago, I had gone to the County offices on Grove Street in Somerville to have the change made. Although I’ve been registered as an independent for longer than I can remember, I voted in the last New Jersey primary as a Republican expressly to cast my preference for Mitt Romney.

You may remember him: He’s the guy that had to explain why it is that a Mormon should be elected to this nation’s highest office. He had been immensely successful as Governor of Massachusetts, a state so blue, that only a super-bright administrator with his talent could overcome the Bay State’s bias against Republicans. Nor did it hurt Romney that, prior to elected office, he drove the success of Bain Capital, creating jobs and making a pile of dough for himself and others with his entrepreneurial prowess.

Poor me, I knew that Romney did not stand a chance in New Jersey, but I thought, “What the heck!” The economy was beginning to go down the tubes and none of the other candidates seemed to get the point, so why not go for the smart person who knows what one is supposed to do with one’s heart and brain?

Don’t misunderstand; I don’t dislike Democrats or Republicans. In fact, I think that they are pretty good Joes and Janes and, much of the time, they do a good job. But, when campaigning, it seems that the difference between what they say they will do, and what, in fact, they end up doing once elected doesn’t jive: They don’t keep promises. Then there’s that other thing: They have a nasty little habit of not trusting the people who put them in office – you know: those pesky voters who make demands like wanting to approve state bond issues for billions of dollars in school construction, and other minor considerations of that nature.

Thing is, though, there are an awful lot of us who don’t wear the donkey or elephant seal of approval, and both the blues and the reds hunger for our vote.

It’s Been a Long Time

Yesterday morning, after doing laps at the JCC Pool in Bridgewater, I pointed the car to our polling place to choose among Congressional candidates, local party officials, and national convention delegates in the New Jersey primary election. (What, again! – I thought those were over on Super Tuesday.) This is the first year in decades that my wife and I vote in the primaries, because we are unaffiliated voters.

Did you know that, if you are an independent voter, you can vote for either a Democratic or Republican slate in New Jersey’s primary elections without declaring your party affiliation in advance? If you do, though, you’ll stay registered in the party of your choice for all following primary elections, unless you contact Somerset County Offices in Somerville, and request a change back to unaffiliated (independent) voter. It’s easy to do, but you have to take the initiative.

I’d like for New Jersey to have the same system of primary voting as does New Hampshire. In that state, a Democrat or Republican can vote in the primaries for any party. In subsequent primary elections, NH voters can reverse allegiance at the polls at will, if they so choose, without having to go through any red tape.

. . . . On a related matter . . . Did you catch Senator Carl Levin of Michigan testifying before the Democratic Party’s Rules Committee the other day? He was rightfully upset and fuming about the long-unresolved issue of seating Michigan delegates at the upcoming Democratic National Convention? I thought he would bust a gut.

Senator Levin does not – emphasize, ‘does not like’ – the notion that the states of New Hampshire and Iowa keep trumping all the other states in the Union by insisting on staying ahead of the pack in the primaries and caucuses. It’s tradition, Senator, tradition.