Mount Paran Northside Citizens Association

APATHETIC VOTERS NEED PRODDING by Robert Trim

Oct 22, 2004

I am a campaign consultant?—one of the many people responsible for the telephone calls, advertisements and mailers that I hear so many complaints about. If the whiners have a better method of reaching voters, let me know. The fact is, potential voters don't come to forums and rarely attend neighborhood socials to meet candidates. The majority never even bother to vote. State and legislative races are seen as a low priority and not worth the time. Voters can't be bothered. Worse, many only bother to vote for candidates at the top of the ticket when they do feel so moved to go to the polls. Unfortunately, this cavalier, uninformed attitude is just the problem we in politics are trying to overcome. It is the local politician who truly affects your drive to work, your classroom size or your tax bill. These positions don't pay much, and although they are called part time, they don't end when the legislative session is over. Folks, if you are going to register to vote, I would hope that you would want to be educated about the issues and candidates you have to choose from. As for the complaints about campaign literature and telephone calls, maybe if more people would choose to become engaged in the political process, less indirect contact would be needed. The problem with politics and government is the same as education. We have citizens who can't be bothered to skip Starbucks one day to go vote, but always have time to complain. Get over it and go vote.

Editor's Note: Robert Trim is a Cobb County Political Consultant