31 of my 46 years were spent in The Old Dominion – so I feel I would be negligent if I did not remind my friends in Virginia to see who is on the ballot, do some research in the next 72 hours and get to the polls to vote, if there is a Primary in either your local or legislative districts.
The Founding Documents of our country are clear about who is responsible for our government. We The People are.
It astonishes me that the vast majority of eligible voters do not vote in Primaries.
What grieves my heart even more, is that roughly 50 % of evangelical’s do not vote in general elections, because they are not registered – and of those evangelicals which are registered to vote – the vast majority do not vote in Primaries.
I first wrote about the importance of Primaries in 2011.
I want to make two points about Tuesday’s Primary:
First, neither the Republican Party of Virginia nor the Democratic Party of Virginia has Tuesday’s Election listed on the events page of their website. Apparently, neither party thinks highly enough of the internal political process of being iron sharpening iron to inform visitors of their website of the upcoming election. I found this troubling, but expected.
Second, in the General Assembly there are a total of 18 districts facing primaries: 9 Democratic Primaries and 9 Republican Primaries.
In my old stomping ground of Fredericksburg, perhaps the most publicized primary is taking place. That is where the Speaker of the House of Delegates Bill Howell is being challenged by Susan Stimpson. That district represents Stafford and Fredericksburg City.
I consider Bill Howell a friend. We used to attend the same church, and I have met him a couple times to discuss policy. I have respect for his service not only in the General Assembly but also to the community, especially through Young Life.
Friendship aside, being a great individual aside – I personally believe that one of the reasons our states and our country are in the financial situation we are in is because we have lost the vision of rotational leadership our founders provided for us. Our founders desired a citizen legislature – where folks serve for a season, then return home to labor in an industry they helped to regulate. This is not personal – but public service should be for a season, not for a career. Delegate Howell has been serving in that seat since 1992.
In addition to Term Limits however, there are a several issues, which I believe each citizen needs to research before going to the polls on Tuesday. Many articles relating to the issues on why Delegate Howell should be replaced by Susan Stimpson have been posted on the Fredericksburg Virginia Patriots Group Facebook Page – and I will refer you to that. Click here to review!
Don’t Forget to Vote on Tuesday!
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