Scioto County Democrats Give Up On Commissioners Election?
Traditionally, a Presidential election year has the highest voter turnout. However, local elections seem to be a real snoozer. The two most contested races have, seemingly, evaporated. Have the Scioto County Democrats given up on the Commissioners race? The biggest race of the year between Murphy and Thoroughman has been decided in the Primary. With the General Election less than 150 days away, there are crickets from the candidates.
Matt Seifert
The last public post to his election page on Facebook was on April 15th.
John K McHenry
The last public post to his election page on Facebook was on April 24th. It was a story about “Rocky the badass rooster”.
Cathy Coleman
After a long lapse in communications from her re-election page, she did post a weather report on June 10th.
Mike Crabtree
Posted a video of a flag-raising at the end of a community service project by the Scioto County Young Republicans. Then, followed up with 2 posts (including the weather report on June 10th)
Budgets and Time
Every campaign is expensive. Each candidate has to stretch a dollar for a country mile. Social Media is free and every press organization would happily accept an exclusive interview. For the incumbents, they already have a group of supporters. The opposition needs to obtain voter information, make contacts, garner donations, and “kiss babies”.
You don’t win elections by being in parades. You don’t earn votes without having a defined message.
Voter Turnout
At first glance, it seems the registered Republicans outnumber the Democrats by nearly double. That means an election will be won or lost with the “undecided” voters. Voter turnout is another consideration. Even with over 44,000 voters in the county, less than 25% will actually vote.
Fever Pitch
We can tell by our subscriber engagement that opinions are passionate and run the full spectrum of ideas. Decisions that affect our “kitchen table” are being made by State and Federal mandates. Some in the local government have voiced strong opinions about the mandated intrusions on such an intimate level. Scioto County has issues both known and unknown. (Some we will bring to light this week) If you want to be hired by the people to represent them, you need to let people know where you stand on these front-burner issues.
The incumbents always have a slight edge. The opposition needs to take a stand or take a seat. The job pays over $50,000 per year. Scioto County’s median household income is $39,731. Scioto County’s poverty level is 22.6%. You’re asking people to give you a (technically part-time) job that will pay you more than nearly every person that votes for you will earn.
Take the next 141 days and earn that privilege.