It is extraordinary to think about all of the voices we’ve heard at the Santa Rosa Press Gazette this summer, including opinions about issues regarding the leadership of both the county and city, and to see only 14 percent of 123,472 registered voters turned out county wide. It is disappointing. As for the city campaigns, it was difficult to watch and listen to fighting between different camps. In the mayoral race alone, only 1,616 votes were cast. The percentage of voter turnout in the City of Milton’s three precincts was around 20 percent as U.S. Census Bureau said the city’s 2013 population count is 9,323. It is difficult to understand how, with all of the discussion about the courthouse, the decay of downtown Milton, and re-routing Highway 90, our fellow citizens decided to stay home instead of allowing their voices to be heard. It is also frustrating to understand the lack of interest when this year’s primary election of city council seats, historic as it may be, was decided by so few. Local elections can affect the lives of citizens much more than any regional or national election. It is these leaders who decide when or how much tax will be raised, when or where county roads will be paved, or where a neighborhood will be built. It isn’t President Obama who built the city Riverwalk and he will not decide if it’s time to build a homeless shelter. Wake up, Santa Rosa County. If citizens believe their vote doesn’t count, ask Jim Melvin and Bob Cole or Carol Boston and Jim Taylor. Non-voters have no right to be concerned when leaders who do not hold their views or convictions represent them at city hall, in a classroom or in the judge’s seat.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Voters turn out for primary disappointing