Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Why Don't People Vote?

During a panel discussion on December 12, 2007 at the City Cable TV office, three Cambridge MA politicians lament the low voter turnout. Lovell Dyett reveals he was elected to the School Committee. Sandra Graham was a City Councilor and a State Rep. Robert Winters ran for City Council and for Election Commission.
No politician ever raises the possibility that they are the reason for low voter interest. None of these pols did. Voting is the least amount of effort a citizen can make to participate. They don't even need any knowledge of the candidates or the issues. All they have to do is show up or send a ballot to the election commission.
In December 2007 newly elected Cambridge City Councilor Sam Seidel appeared on Harvard Student Ben Eisler's "Inside City Hall" CCTV show. He referred to CCTV and to Robert Winters as NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations). As Bill Clinton said, "Give me a break."
Does Seidel know that CCTV gets $850,000 per year in City money? Is he aware that Robert Winters works for and is protected by a police agency? Or is Seidel intentionally misleading the voters? It is bad enough if he holds misguided opinions and misuses words. But if he deceives that is worse. In either case it is one small example of why voters reach a limit of being offended by politicians and stop paying attention and stop voting.

1 comment:

Friends of the White Geese said...

I responded to Seidel's feelings on failure to vote in an Alewife letter in which I blamed it on the environmental destructiveness of Cambridge pols notably including him.

His response was that he and the others have their own secret definition of environmentalism. The exchange may be found at: http://charlesriverwhitegeeseblog.blogspot.com/2007_05_29_archive.html.

Bob La Trémouille