All Politics are Local
At a time when it appears that one party's entire political strategy has taken on the ghost of Groucho Marx, who famously said, "Who do you believe? Me or your own eyes?", it's comforting to retreat into small town politics.My small town, in this case.
There were two controversies in the mayoral race. The incumbent said that her 52-year-old opponent would "make a fine mayor" with "more experience." The whippersnapper responded that the mayor had passed out campaign flyers at a high school football game, then neglected to stay to pick up the trash generated from the flyers.
"It's gone thermonuclear," I said. "Young person versus litterer. A battle for the ages."
"I don't understand how a fifty-two year old needs more experience," Gloria said.
"Just a few more decades of seasoning," I said. "She needs to reach the median age of voters in this town."
Oh, controversy burning bright. That was the entire campaign, I think, except for a police union endorsement from a force that must number at least five.
Yesterday, it was showdown time.
"I wonder if they'll keep the polls open late if one person calls ahead and says they can't make it on time," I said. "They'll probably bring cookies."
In the end, litter proved to be a larger issue than age. Fifty-two year old youth won by 800 votes out of almost 4000 cast, a decisive victory for something I believe we can all agree on: people should pick up their trash.
All hail democracy!
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