8.5%

Warning: I’m on a soap box today.
So the primary election has come and gone. We’ve made our decisions and declared who we want to represent us in the November election and in some cases, declared who we want to give the job to.
Or did we? I know I did.
But what about you? Chances are very high that you didn’t.
Because as you may have read on the front page, only 8.5-percent of the registered voters in Bell County voted. That means 128,107 registered voters did not vote. What percentage were you?
It may not seem like a big deal to most people, but it’s very sickening to me.
A nationwide study released on Tuesday showed that only 7.2% of registered voters had voted in the primaries before Tuesday’s elections in Texas, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana.
So, congratulations Bell County, we beat the national curve, but I’m not applauding.
Two of my cousins have spent time in the Middle East protecting my freedom and giving freedom to people who have never had the opportunity to taste it. One is still there.
Over 500 young Americans have died in Iraq so that a people they’ve never met can go to their polls and elect a president.
These fine American soldiers fought and died so that a ruthless dictatorship could be overthrown and our country could sleep securely at night.
Yet in the midst of a world war and in the midst of a heated presidential election, as a county we only sent 12,373 people to the polls.
That’s less than the population of Belton.
Now granted, I love Belton. I don’t want to live anywhere else. In fact I’m buying a house in Belton.
But if I lived in Temple, or Harker Heights or Killeen or anywhere else in Bell County, I wouldn’t like it one bit if the citizens of Belton began making decisions for me and deciding who would represent me and who would stand up for my concerns.
Who are they to decide my representation? Would you let a stranger off the street pick a lawyer to represent you in a major lawsuit?
I know I wouldn’t. I want to take time to choose my representation.
In the process of buying a house I didn’t walk into it blindly.
I chose my representation. I talked with people. I took several opinions and looked at my options.
And because of that I’m super pleased with the work Terri Covington and Matt Wood have done. I couldn’t have asked for a better job.
I want the best possible representation I can get whenever I can get it.
I want someone I can trust handling my business.
And if they’re not doing a good job, rather than sit around and complain, I’m going to fire them.
I’m not going to walk up to a phone book and play “Ouiji directory” and you shouldn’t either.
Now of course I’m not saying all this to say that every other realtor in Belton is bad, or every other mortgage company is bad. I found my preference. I chose it, was pleased and stuck with them.
When it comes to electing our public officials, we each have a choice.
In May we have the opportunity to select our representation for city council and school board. In November we have the opportunity to choose the leader of the free world.
Don’t let some stranger come and steal your right to choose our country’s leadership.
Five minutes can change the course of history.