Choose representatives carefully

 Why would anyone with the right to vote want to abdicate that right to a representative who doesn’t listen to their concerns??Why would anyone who has a voice in our political system not want that voice to be heard??Is there any wonder that there is so much mistrust and apathy towards our election process?

 These sound like tough questions, but the solutions aren’t that tough. 

 We need elected officials who will listen to us before it is time to act upon important issues and pieces of legislation. Voters have to make it clear to their candidates and elected officials that they want their concerns to build consensus and in the end, to construct better decisions.

 Otherwise; we have representatives who represent their self interests. They will vote the way that they see fit and will come back to us with a litany of excuses as for why they did what they did.

 They won’t tell us the truth; they will tell us what they think we want to hear. They won’t tell us that money was an influence; they’ll only tell us that it takes a lot of money to run a campaign. They won’t tell us that they are heavily influenced by special interest groups; they’ll tell us that they have a broad base of support. They won’t tell us that they will raise taxes; they’ll tell us that they have new ideas, but that they cost money. They won’t tell us that they are smarter than us; they’ll tell us that we don’t understand the complex nature of politics.

 Leaders make decisions that will have the best outcome for those they lead. They will leave no one behind. Leaders will protect us from those who wish to silence us or worse, to suppress us. Leaders will stand against those who would otherwise subvert a process that men and women have died to protect.

 You have to ask yourselves:?do we have representatives that represent our viewpoints when it comes time to voice them??Are they leading our cities, counties, states and country in a direction that is affordable for its taxpayers, protecting our best interests and providing us guidance in our governance?

 Given the choice, I?will take the leader?over the representative because at the end of the day, a representative who lacks support from their constituents or their colleagues accomplishes little. Failure to list will often produce poor results.

 It is time to elect leaders!

 Ronald Reagan said “Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not to run their lives.”

 I?agree.

 We all know what we want and expect from our elected leaders. That is the easy part.

 The tough part is working to get those leaders elected. Discuss them with your friends. Go to their websites and learn more about them. Read the dailies. Go to a town hall meeting. Educate yourselves and then, educate others. Leave no question in your mind that yours will be an informed decision when you go to your polling place.

 Please vote November 4th for candidates who will lead us towards a better tomorrow.

Art Goodrich, Woodhull