Franklin D. Roosevelt once said “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.”
I have heard people say that they simply might not vote because they are just plain tired of the political attack ads being run by the candidates. Or, they will not vote because they don’t like either of the candidates. Okay, I get it… we are tired of the insane amount of attack ads also… but you’re not going to vote because of the ads? Bad idea! It really is sad that many of the attack ads you see on television, you hear on the radio, you see on social media… well, most of those don’t come from the candidate. They come from Political Action Committees that favor one candidate or party over the other. The candidates usually don’t know anything about the attack ads until they begin playing or they come out in the paper. Although the television stations, radio stations, newspapers, and social media outlets make decent money running the attack ads… the ads themselves are a blight on the political process. Movie Star and Producer Ron Howard was quoted as saying, “Instead of candidates hiring people, like yours truly, to create campaign media that works on both conscious and subconscious levels to sway the voting public, what if all TV ads were, by law, only allowed to feature the candidate, with, say, the American flag as the backdrop, alone, speaking directly to the camera?” We would like that. A candidate simply explaining why people should vote for him or her… that would be nice.
By the way, not voting because you don’t like either candidate… well that’s up to you, but don’t complain about the winner. Remember, you didn’t vote so you don’t get to complain.
As we have stated before, we encourage you to learn about all the candidates and all the issues on the ballot. There are three bond issues that I hope you will vote for:
• The two Grant County Bond issues… one for repairing roads and one for repairing buildings.
• The New Mexico Bond D question to raise money for our colleges and universities, special needs schools and tribal schools.
None of these bond issues will cause you to pay higher taxes.
If you have not already voted, please vote on election day. It is a privilege for every American to be able to take part in the process of elections. Learn about the candidates… learn about the bond issues… learn about the proposed amendments… think cast your vote.
On November 16, the Chamber of Commerce will host the 2018 Grant County Awards Banquet sponsored by PNM. You can get nomination forms for Citizen of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Linda K. Jones Humanitarian of the Year, Small Business of the Year and Large Business of the Year at the Chamber of Commerce office in the Grant County Conference Center. You can also call us and we can email you the nomination forms. Our office number is 575-538-3785.
We still have a few evenings open for holiday parties at the Grant County Conference Center. Give us a call at 538-3785 if you are needing a place to have an enjoyable event.
We want to say “Thank You” to Boutique Airlines for serving Silver City and Grant County for the past several years. We appreciate the service you gave to individuals flying to and from Phoenix and Albuquerque. THANK YOU!
If you have questions or need information, call the Chamber of Commerce office at 538-3785 or stop by our office in the Grant County Conference Center.