Democracy In Inaction…Squid spent most of the sunny weekend splayed out on the beach with a pitcher of margaritas and romance novels, secretly thinking vain thoughts: Maybe the drought will finally turn Squid’s translucent complexion tan. What if every Monterey Bay weekend were so gloriously hot and summery? It would inevitably lead Squid to be even more lazy than Squid already is, which means Squid might lose motivation to do some basic life tasks: refill the margaritas, order more cheap reads on Amazon.com, and vote by mail.
Squid admittedly votes in part because of the sweet patriotic stickers you get (“I Voted!” in red, white and blue), but also because it’s so darn easy. Mail-in ballots in Monterey County got sent out today, meaning Squid’s ballot will be arriving any day. All Squid has to do is apply a bit of Squid’s readily available ink, lick a stamp, and drop it in the mailbox. Not so hard, even for Squid. But apparently too hard for a few folks who are seeking Squid’s vote—and your vote—this election season.
Squid asked the Monterey County Elections Department for voter rolls for everyone running for office this Nov. 4, and most of them are pretty religious about showing up to the polls and exercising their democratic muscle.
Except for a few. It looks like Melissa Godwin, who’s running for Salinas City Council District 3 against incumbent Steve McShane, was not even registered to vote as of the June primary, according to the elections department. Same goes for Andrew Amaral, who’s running for a seat on the Moss Landing Harbor District.
Candidates for Pacific Grove City Council have some shoddy voter turnout records: Mayoral candidate John Moore missed the 2012 presidential election and the June 2013 primary (maybe he just shows up to vote against his opponent, Mayor Bill Kampe?), and council candidates Brian Brooks and Ken Cuneo both missed the 2013 general election.
So did Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital board candidate Norm Nelson. Bill Lee, who’s seeking re-election to the board of Marina Coast Water District, skipped the June primary and the 2013 mid-term.
Sheriff’s Deputy Steve Bernal, who’s running to unseat his boss, Sheriff Scott Miller, missed the 2012 general election. Remember that one, when Mitt Romney tried to unseat Barack Obama? There was no sheriff’s election that year, so maybe he thought it wasn’t a big deal. But still, Squid can’t help but think that for anyone and everyone running for office, voting is a good first step in participatory democracy.