Decatur City Elections – Your One Stop Shop
November 2, 2009 | 12:02 pmOK, everyone. After months of debate, posturing, baby-slapping and back-kissing, it’s high time we had ourselves an election!
Tomorrow’s the big day, so warm up your voting finger, coordinate your outfit to match your “Georgia Voter” sticker, and locate your polling place.
Now that your looking good and feeling fit, do you know who you’re voting for? If not, perhaps this list of resources will help.
Candidate Debates
Decatur Metro’s City Commission Online Debate
District 2 City Commission Debate – Opening & Closing Statement videos
Decatur eLife School Board Debate – Q & A videos
Candidate Websites and DM Posts (by district/alphabetically)
City Commission Candidates
District 1
- Fred Boykin Campaign Website (incumbent) – DM Boykin posts
- James Radford Campaign Website – DM Radford posts
District 2
- Patti Garrett Campaign Website – DM Garrett posts
- Kyle Williams Campaign Website – DM Williams posts
School Board Elections
At-Large
- Rob Pope Campaign Website – DM Pope posts
- Valarie Wilson Campaign Website (incumbent) – DM Wilson posts
District 1
The good side of the heated but civil posts here and even the nasty emails is that at least we’re not apathetic here in Decatur! Now let’s see if we can convert that drama into action and VOTE! Evidently only about 2,000 votes are cast in our municipal elections out of a registered voter population of 13,406, so only 15% of the population is voting. Even my husband asked me this morning if the election was tomorrow and why there hadn’t been more fanfare. (Maybe we need to advertise our elections during the beer commercials of football games?).
If you support challengers, know that a low voter turnout favors incumbents so you better get out and vote. If you support incumbents, know that the challengers know that they have to get out the vote so they are busy doing that. If you support a little of each, a non-vote for one position does not balance a non-vote for another. So basically you’d better vote or someone is going to take advantage of your not voting.
Oh and I repeat that, despite all yard signs and avowed allegiances associated with me, I continue to take evidence and ponder it, right up to the moment my finger touches the screen. So bring on the flyers, campaign promises (I record them all and bring them up in subsequent official meetings), flag waving, car decals, balloons, and cool election parties! My vote can still be influenced!
Well . . . I was so happy to vote this morning for the women who would represent me. I remember the first time voting and could not wait to turn 18. Valarie Wilson and Patti Garrett are who best represent me and will do wonders for the community . . . they already are.
Lets hope that the best candidates win today and the outcomes are not based on race or gender or any other factor that make up the candidates DNA for which they have no control!
AMEN Pete.
It took me a long time to vote even though I’ve thought about the issues for weeks.. Everyone who kept coming and going next to me probably wondered why. I found that, in the end, balancing candidates’ statements, styles, and what I know of their performance, values, and skills, was harder than I thought. It was hard but important to filter out the backstage whispering and rumors. I even considered using the “Write In” option to explain myself but I realized that would really be a non-vote. In the end, voting what one thinks is right is hard in local elections when one knows so much, feels so much, and will live with the results so directly every day.
Oh,, I just took the post to mean that the persons for whom she chose to vote happened to BE women. But maybe I am naive…?