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“*You call it conflict. I call it democracy”.
by Mountain Girl ~ November 7th, 2007. Filed under: Election.By now, we all know the results of the race for mayor. For those that supported Mark DeSantis, the fact that he made a strong showing in an area dominated by Democrats is remarkable. The point though is that it shouldn’t be.
My hope is that the practice of going into the polling place and blithely pushing the red lever or button or touch screen next to “Democrat” will become less and less common in Pittsburgh. I’m not asserting that people not vote for Democratic candidates, I’m suggesting that they choose to vote for Democratic candidates.
Vote based on qualifications. Vote based on merit. Even vote in your own self-interest, but please don’t vote for someone just because of their party-affiliation or because that’s what someone told you to do. I felt empowered by the fact that I was unsure of how I would vote until yesterday. And that I took the time to learn about the candidates and where they stood on the issues that are important to me.
This election was a good reminder that voting is not only a privilege, it’s an obligation. I’m obligated to know a little bit about public policy. I’m obligated to know a little bit about candidates running for any office and I’m obligated to ask someone that thinks it’s disloyal to not vote the party line what exactly it is they are afraid of.
*title is a quote from an interview with Bill Peduto, November 7, 2007