Cabarrus Cheap Seats

There are 90,739 voters in Cabarrus County. 6845 (or 7.5%) are marked as Inactive. That leaves about 84,000 people. Well, about 10% of them bothered to show up and vote in this past election. The results were predictable; and the news media analyzed the election just long enough to cut to the story of two Panthers Cheerleaders in a bathroom in Tampa.

Here are a couple of quick thoughts on this year’s election.

1) It had built-in predictability

In Concord, the Mayor/Politburo system of government was secured. Scott Padgett won by margins that should give him the title of “Generalissimo” as opposed to a mortal mayor. If any more people voted for him, he could get a month in the calendar named after him.

In Mount Pleasant, the will of 179 people bested that of the paltry 142 in the ABC Election. Now, Mount Pleasant will no longer be safe from the evils of easily-accessible alcohol that plagues the rest of the cities in the county. Yep, if you ignore all of the new restaurants, Concord Mills, rising average annual incomes, new businesses, the coming North Carolina Research Campus, and the massive residential and commercial growth - having alcohol via liquor-by-the-drink and/or ABC stores has sent this community right down the crapper.

For a surprise, you’d have to go to Harrisburg. Most municipal elections are an incumbent coronation. Well, in Concord, at least. So, it was amazing to see TWO incumbents lose their seats (Mark Martin and Jean Bradley), not just to freshmen candidates, but first-time voters Michael Hart and Steve Sciascia. Note: The Tribune article fails to mention both candidates had voted in elections prior to the 2005 elections in spite of the quote by Mark Martin.

Of course, how could we forget about Kannapolis. The mayor’s race was anybody’s guess; but Bob Misenheimer took the race. I think that James Klontz’ results may have shown that his priorities were elsewhere. As for the City Council race…well, that takes us to point number 2…

2) The Web is Useless in Cabarrus Elections

Not just useless, but utterly useless. Think back to 2004, the Democratic Primaries. Howard Dean looked like the heir apparent to the nomination. The media would just not shut up about his novel campaign…the Blog for America…etc. Then New Hampshire came - nothin’. He melted down and he’s working as the Democratic National Committee Chairman at the nadir of the modern Democratic Party where they control nothing - not the House, Senate, Courts, or the majority of the Governor Mansions.

As for this election, if you look at Harold Smith’s 2003 and 2005 election results, you’ll see something very interesting - they are the same. In 2003, 1002 people voted for Harold Smith - giving him 12.64% of the vote. He came in 5th, where 3 seats were open and 7 candidates were on the ballot. In 2005, after he had gotten himself in the papers with his antics and contrived scandals backed by his website for two years, 1110 people voted for him giving him 13.36% of the vote. He, once again, came in 5th where, once again, 3 seats were open, and, once again, 7 people were on the ballot. Net result - nothin’

To look at the other side of the coin, of the people that participated in my own Cabarrus Election Challenge - only one, James Johnson of Mount Pleasant, was elected.

The Web is not a shortcut to victory. A look at the data shows that if you want to win an election ’round here - you’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way. The old-fashioned way being meeting the voters, participating in forums, and campaigning. Concord being the exception to that - be well-behaved and you might get appointed to office. Democracy is too messy and inefficient for this All-American City.

3) Don’t ever, ever, ever ask for money on a ballot unless a Presidential candidate is at the top of it.

This has to do with the bonds. The Mecklenburg School Bonds. With all of the “analysis” and navel-gazing going on in the Observer about how people in one part of the county do not care about people in the other part, and how the bond proponents didn’t make their case…it’ll be good to bring some sense to this. Cabarrus voters don’t care more about education than Mecklenburg voters do. Our school board just had the sense to get a bond on the ballot during a presidential election year. The simple fact is that most folks only vote every four years. Most folks need to be pummeled with millions of dollars in advertising throughout mass media, have pointless water cooler discussions, and be subjected to a few campaign scandals in order to muster up the motivation to figure out where they vote and show up before the polls close on the First Tuesday following the First Monday in November. These folks, regardless of their political affiliation, like “goodies” like schools, parks, etc. and will vote for them if they are on the ballot. If the Mecklenburg School Bond package were on the ballot a year earlier and not passed - THEN that would have been an indication that the community had irreconcilable differences. If those bonds had passed this year, it would have been only through divine intervention.

A Personal Note - Why I Even Bothered to Vote in This Election

This might sound a bit dramatic, but I vote because of my Dad. My father had spent the better years of his life in the US Navy as a Submariner. If he could spend months on end in the deep surrounded by ICBMs, Reactors, Akula-Class Soviet Subs, and a few notoriously flatulent shipmates; then I can take a 10-minute detour on my way to work to cast my ballot, even if the result were a forgone conclusion. It would be equally hard to tell my friends who are encountering AK-47-carrying insurgents in Iraq and Taliban IEDs in Afghanistan that it wasn’t convenient for me to take a little time out of my day to punch some holes in a card.

Even the most cursory study of World History over the past few centuries would show that it has been only since my grandparents’ generation that a Democracy with Free Markets and Individual liberties has proven to be a good idea. Even with that, many people in the world will still need to secure the privileges we take for granted through the sacrifices of the brave. We owe it to them to show up for a few moments each year to participate in this continuing revolution of liberty.