I voted today. Or I should say I went to the election booth only to discover a paucity of choices in Long Island City. Over a third of the job-seekers had zero opposition, and another 50% were against virtually nameless opponents doomed to be crushed. Chuck Schumer vs. Joe Pinion and Nydia Velazquez vs. Juan Pagan might as well be Mike Tyson vs. Alfonso Ratliff.
Even where there was an actual choice the candidates were disappointing, Kathy Hochul or Lee Zeldin? I want Abraham Lincoln, I’ll happily take FDR or Eisenhower, gosh darn even McCain or Obama are plausible. Maybe I’m asking for too much in the 21st century, but I’m guessing that at a minimum our local congresswoman is ripe for the picking in 2024.
In the meantime if you haven’t voted yet, in addition to candidates there are four proposals on the ballot. The first concerns a multi-billion dollar bond issuance laced with greenery-type language. I am in no position to evaluate this complex issue as a citizen, so I voted no. The other three had a feel-good-do-nothing-but-add-regulation to the books vibe, and I don’t want to feel good just by a checking a box. So I voted no. I sincerely hope my southern compatriots do likewise on their ballot measures, as they contain more bite than fluff.
Anonymous says
November 8, 2022 at 4:07 pmif you don’t understand what you’re voting on, why not abstain instead of voting no?
Miles says
November 8, 2022 at 4:21 pmNice distinction, although such measures rarely seem to be proposed by the pure of heart.
A local exception today–here in Connecticut–was that the council be empowered to remove a mayor if he or she had been convicted of crime during their tenure of office. You can see that we have high standards up in Connecticut, a state officially dubbed “The Land of Steady Habits.”