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This year is
one of those years some of us really look forward to. You know how
it is...some years you vote against people because you’re
mad at them...some years, you hold your nose and vote "for
the lesser of two evils". We all know how it is.
But this year,
it’s different. Maybe it’s something in the air. Maybe
it was partly because this year the leaves turned richer colors
than they have in years. Maybe it’s because my kid's doing
pretty well in school. Maybe I’m just in a good mood. But this
year, I’m looking forward to voting. I feel as if I
actually have good choices......that I’m voting FOR, not AGAINST.
Sure, I can
be mad about the direction this country is headed - with massive
federal debt, and not enough good jobs to go around, and friends
who can’t afford to go to the doctor if they get sick. I can
be mad about all the money we need to fix our roads. I can be mad
about the folks who still don’t want to build the safe,
decent high school our kids deserve. But I’m not mad.....I’m
hopeful.
There are candidates
running this year who are offering solutions. They’re not saying
"I’m against", "I oppose", "He’s
a so-and-so", or "I’m not listening". They’re
offering solutions. They’re offering vision. And they are building
a coalition of voters across the county and across party lines in
order to roll up their sleeves and get things done. Here’s
what I mean -
Roger Sharpe
wants to go to Congress. After a lifetime of service, he wants to
go to Washington to close the loopholes that give tax breaks to
companies that send American jobs overseas, to reach across the
aisle to make affordable healthcare available to everyone, and to
reach across the world to find a solution to the quagmire in Iraq.
He wants to protect the Globe area from tourism-killing timber harvests,
and keep Washington from passing on unfunded mandates to our schools.
Steve Goss wants
to go to the State Senate - he’s interested in solutions in
health care, creating good-paying jobs, fair pay for teachers, clean
air and water. And even though he isn’t in office yet, he’s
already shown a remarkable ability to bring people together by focusing
on common goals, instead of divisive name-calling.
Cullie Tarleton
wants to go to the State House. Cullie has tremendous energy and
a drive to get things done - he can’t stand to sit idly by
while good teachers, well-maintained roads, and most of the money
going to North Carolina’s state universities go to the rest
of the state, instead of here. He wants to see to it we have our
fair share.
God bless the
county commission! They finally took steps to get us started in
the right direction on the new high school - citizen groups met
all over the county for a year and a half, studies were done, and
now our kids will finally have a decent place to learn and prepare
to make a living in the 21st century. I'll vote to keep them going
in the right direction by voting for Billy Ralph Winkler, Mary Moretz
and John Cooper.
And we have
a chance to return professionalism and inter-agency cooperation
to the Sheriff’s Department with L.D. Hagaman. How often do
you get this much law enforcement and management experience in a
candidate that still shoots a 98 on the pistol range?
So you see,
I’m hopeful. I’ve been able to talk to friends of mine
about politics this year with whom I have avoided that topic of
conversation for years - simply because these candidates
have stayed away from negative politics, negative campaigning, and
divisive labels....because this year, these campaigns have stuck
to the issues, offered positive ideas and real solutions,
and built coalitions across party lines, across Watauga county,
and across the district.
I’m looking forward to voting this year! Marsha Walpole is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Watauga County Democratic Party, and chair of the Laurel Creek Precinct.
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