Elections Past and Future

One election is coming and the other is going.

It certainly was interesting to examine the results of the school elections May 2 in this area. And now it soon will be time to turn attention to the Aug. 8 primary. In West Michigan, which has a long-standing one-party system that rivals totalitarian dictatorships overseas, the primary is everything, because he or she who wins in August is virtually certain of victory over the hapless Democratic opponent (if any one even bothers to file) in November.

Some observations about the Tuesday, May 2, election and beyond:

1. The nearly 11 percent turnout was pathetic. School boards, even though they’ve lost a lot of their power and control education since Proposal A was passed in 1994, should be of concern to anyone who has children or even knows any kids who go to school (actually anyone who cares about what their tax money is being used for). Is the low turnout the result of the new election laws that have voters cast ballots in township halls and the like rather than in schools? I don’t know, but we have to find ways to make it easier for the massive numbers who are too busy, lazy, ignorant or apathetic to participate in the process. Yet many of them will show up in droves at school board meetings if there’s trouble.

2. I got a bit of an ego boost because I called my shot on the Hastings and Delton school board races, picking Tammy Pennington and Jeff Guenther in Hastings and Elizabeth Matteson in Delton. I shed no tears for the unceremonious retirement of Terry McKinney, who was turned away in his bid for a third four-year term. I hope he lost because of his support for neo-fascist homophobic right-wing religious zealot Bill Skilling as a candidate for supertintendent. Incumbents actually had a rough go of it Tuesday. Besides McKinney, Vince Pennington in Lakewood and Brian Schumaker in Maple Valley were dumped by challengers. Vince Pennington deserved it. He didn’t even bother to respond to the Lakewood News queries for an interview. If you don’t take time to talk to the press, you show you don’t care to talk to the voters since often the only way the public in these local races gets to hear from candidates is through the media.

3. It was a mixed bag in Caledonia. Ken Yonker was the top choice, but Pat Johnson, with her necktie for Wes VanDenburg still warm, was also elected. The two are on opposite sides of the most important issue to hit Caledonia in many years. Do the voters want a good fight, or don’t they pay attention to who the candidates are and where they stand?

4. The biggest news about the approaching primary is that Serafin “Chuck” Nieves has decided to run against incumbent County Commissioner Wayne Adams in the Eighth District. Nieves is fresh from getting the boot from the County Board as a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission and he certainly is expected to have some interesting things to say in the campaign. Also of note is that Board Chairwoman Clare Tripp continues to be in an awkward spot. She hasn’t filed yet in the Sixth District, but Democrat David Brinkert has, and there are serious rumors that a fellow Republican of note will offer up a challenge Aug. 8. Even if Tripp survives the primary and general election, she faces the possibility of losing the chair next January because her good buddy, Sandy James, is retiring and being replaced by someone not likely to be “on the team.” Add Mike Callton, Hoot Gibson and Don Nevins and the prospects of another new face or two on the board, and it could become another embarassment that could drive her to be having her own conversation with God ala Sandy James.

5. No one has filed yet for 24th District State Senator, but incumbent Republican Patty Birkholz is a shoo-in, and thus far nobody has stepped in to avoid letting her skate free from now through November. Not so in the 87th District State Rep. race, where chosen one Brian Calley, the Portland loan officer, has rivals but is establishing himself as the Establishment's man to beat, mostly because of his ability to pick the deep pockets of fat cat contributors- including himself. Brian Reynolds, my choice, is cash poor, Susan Vlietstra is horribly green and Frank Campbell still has to decide if he’s in or out of the race. Then there’s the sacrificial lamb, Democrat Doug Kalnbach.  Can no one stop Calley, the candidate of the status quo, the candidate of keep doing what the Republican dominated state government has been doing for the last 16 years? If you liked Gary Newell and you like where this state is headed, Calley’s your boy. Better yet he’s the fair-haired golden boy for special interests from outside the area who won't give a damn about you once he gets elected. It still mystifies my why people complain about things and then vote for the candidates who staunchly defends the same old game. In that case, you get the government you deserve!

The filing deadline for the fall election season fast approaches. Stay tuned!