DON'T VOTE

At Least Not Yet

Voting is a civic duty. Voting EARLY is not.

In fact, for me, who still loves the thrill of stepping into the voting booth on Election Day, I’m more than baffled by it…especially given the all-but-certain problems facing IRB in the coming years.

Some of you have, no doubt, already cast your ballot. Why would anyone do that? Why wouldn’t everyone want to hear anything and everything there is about the issues and the candidates before deciding? I just don’t get it.

To my way of thinking, early voting is the bedfellow of narrow-mindedness. And, based on past history, IRB has one of the highest percentages of narrow-mindedness of all the barrier island beach communities.

In the November ’08 presidential election, 10.1% of the total 2,491 votes cast in IRB came from early voters. Contrast that with 5.8% in Madeira Beach, 6.0% in Redington Beach, 5.4% in neighboring Indian Shores and 5.7% in Treasure Island.

Even if you prefer to vote by mail, you have until 7 p.m. on Election Day to submit your ballot…so why jump the gun?

Turns out my fondness for the voting booth environment puts me in the minority; only 48% preferred to vote the old-fashioned way last November after hearing absolutely everything there was to hear and carefully weighing the choices right down to the last nanosecond.

I can’t imagine having cast my vote for commissioner yet. We will be electing two of the three candidates vying for the open seats at a time in the history of our little beach community that couldn’t be more critical.

I’m probably the most familiar with Terry Wollin as a seated commissioner who is re-running for her seat, since I’ve had the opportunity to see her in action while occupying the position for the last two years. I know of Don House's qualifications and what he has accomplished as a member of the IRB Planning & Zoning Board. (I know he opposes the Beach Management Plan…which is good enough for me!) I know the least about Phil Hanna other than his participation in the preparation of the film that successfully swayed the community to vote for the Fire District rate increase. I wouldn’t think of casting my vote until I know more about Hanna especially since he was at least brave enough to step up to the plate and go for it. I owe him that. We owe all the candidates that...personalities aside.

I’m not urging you NOT to vote…I’m urging you to not vote EARLY before you know all the facts. Attend Candidates Night at City Hall on Wednesday, February 19th. Get yourself to a commission meeting before Election Day so you can hear what’s going on in our city firsthand instead of what you read in the newspapers and on IRBeHEARD. (You don't even have to speak, just come and listen with an open mind!) There’s no substitution for front row-seat research.

Nancy Obarski
Beach Trail/IRB

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