Low Voter Turnout Cause for Concern

"election officials said that all-mail elections increased voter participation in all municipalities where they were tried."

weird - was thinking voter turnout would be lower with a mail-in election. wonder which municipalities they based it on.

I just feel there's something special about going to a polling station to cast your vote. Mailing in a ballot just seems so boring. Plus, by mailing in your ballot, you get no "I voted" sticker. :-(

I bet that in the municipalities they looked at, city leaders did more serious advertising about the mail-in election: radio jingles, banner ads on buses, tv ads. There has been a lot of candidate advertising...maybe I've missed something, but it feels like the City has relied on a few PR releases to get the word out about the new type of election. I'm afraid that's going to be a big mistake.

How about a different perspective. How about people feeling that the whole elective process is irrelevant? With everyone being bombarded with constant television hype, commercials promoting continuous fear to make money and do nothing circus clowns coming out of Washington and Sacramento, who cares about a local election? It probably won't make any difference anyhow.
P.S. I voted early

Sticking to my trend of voting; Most times it is difficult to choose between candidates and issues. I wait till the last minute often dropping off my mail in ballot on election day. I anticipate late information that could change my vote including involvement "with a dead woman or a live boy." But I do vote.

I'd bet I'll cancel you out, Don.

Maybe this is article is some reason for the disenchanted...

Why are our cities burden with overpaid union cops starting at 65K, conceivably just barely out of high school?

Why bother to vote when obviously the unions get their way and leave barely enough for the muni's to survive. Screw the voters, taxes are spent on featherbedding the city/county payrolls first then whatever's left trickles down...

Police and Sheriff Patrol Officers: $47,460

Police corporals had an average minimum annual base salary of $44,160, according to the International City-County Management Association. But total income can significantly exceed base salary because of overtime pay. And police officers can often retire at half-pay after 25-30 years of service.

Applicants usually must have at least a high school education, and some departments require a year or two of college or even a degree. Rookies are trained at police academies.

http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/art...

It will be interesting to see how the City decides to handle the next election if voter turnout remains low for this one. I haven't turned in my ballot yet and suspect I'm not alone in waiting to the end of the election cycle. Had I already voted, I might not be aware of the obscene amount of money being pumped in by an out of towner to support certain candidates and Measure B. I'm more likely to vote against all of them now....

The ballots are probably hung up at the post office waiting to clear the accounting department. business reply mail is not the fastest mail...its slower than first class. It would have been cheaper just to put a 44cent stamp on everyone. And faster.

Ya I've been waiting for more information regarding certain issues/individuals, some has come in, but I think I'm about to send mine in.

Although I'm conservative I didn't vote for the fascist candidates who just want more police and zero tolerance on 'gang activity'. I was forced to vote for the union shill.... sacrificing a little economic liberty for more civil liberties.. always seem to be sacrificing some sort of liberties in politics these days. Really a shame.

It makes me somewhat anxious that the city elections staff is apparently giving out demographic information on the age and political registration of the ballots received. If this is true I wonder why?

Perhaps It's a lack lustre ballot for a weary and disenchanted community ?

I don't see anything wrong about the city revealing demographic information so long as the data is anonymous in nature (as I'm sure it is in this case).

Somewhere buried in the city's website used to be detailed demographics info by zip code. As an example, I recall seeing data that showed only people making significantly more than $130K per year had any significant capital gains income. Makes sense but good to see the data.

Anyways, my guess is the blue haired crowd is going to dominate this election. A large swath of people I know in their 20's to 50's are clueless about this election.

John Locke; I think your buddy VanW will single handedly cancel out a lot of votes explaining my previous comment that VanWolfswinel's spending is not democratic.

Also, John in the future I'll try to extrapolate all the way back to President Reagan if you want me to take a little responsibility off your other W friend from Texas. I only condense for bird's sake.

Yeah, you are right about those cops! They need to be paid minimum wage! They should just work 24/7 with no compensation for working over 40 hours a week. They should make less money than every other occupation in the City and should make a fraction of what cops in other cities make. Heck, yeah, that will show those pesky cops what we think of them. Who cares about the sacrifices they make, the fact that they have families to care for, the fact that they have to commute hours in to SB to work, the fact that they work all hours of the night, weekends, and holidays when we are relaxing and having fun, the fact that they have to deal with the dregs of life and all sorts of horrible things, the fact that they have to wear body armor and carry high powered weapons to protect themselves and us from danger ... yeah, they are just over paid and get to retire after 30 years of service … they should never get to retire nor should they ever receive a pension - economically beat the cops down, that’s what I say --- show them whose boss because, if none of them showed up to work because we were paying them less than everyone else we would be better off ... a city with no cops ... that would be a great, safe, orderly run city ... well, except for the anarchy ...

To summarize cazador's comment:

Lower police pay = anarchy in Santa Barbara

Can't say I agree.

Cazador.... The average man in the street has no idea what a cop's life is really like. He or she earns every penny of his or her salary. Which is probably more than one can say for those who whine and complain about the force, from the comfortable safety of their non- life threatening environment.

All i can say to Sa1 is this : Would you prefer to see the CEO retire with his yacht, three or four vacation homes and private jet, plus a tidy $52 million; or see the men or women who risked their lives to protect you retire with a fraction of their pay after 25-30 years? Unreasonable, don't you think?

Sam, you and crazydoor make no sense therefore no response for you.

The real question is when you board an airliner and look down at the ramp and see a pot bellied pig and the young pilot in the cockpit, who would you rather be making six figures? Hint: That pilot's making about $36K...If we can find tens of thousands of pilots willing to work for $36K, why can't we find cops that will work for $47K (Nat. ave.)??

Guess who's missing off this list...

The following 10 occupations had the highest fatality rates in 2008:
*Fatality rate is the number of fatalities per 100,000 workers

1. Fishers and related fishing workers
Fatality rate*: 128.9

2. Logging workers
Fatality rate: 115.7

3. Aircraft pilots and flight engineers
Fatality rate: 72.4

4. Structural iron and steel workers
Fatality rate: 46.4

5. Farmers and ranchers
Fatality rate: 39.5

6. Refuse and recyclable material collectors
Fatality rate:: 36.8

7. Roofers
Fatality rate: 34.4

8. Electrical power line installers and repairers
Fatality rate: 29.8

9. Driver/sales workers and truck drivers
Fatality rate: 22.8

10. Taxi drivers and chauffeurs
Fatality rate: 19.3

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2009/09/04/...

Sa1. Albeit your list of job comparisons is irrelevant, one does wonder how many of these people face the possibility of looking down a gun barrel when they approach a car or a front door in their day's work.

"face the possibility of looking down a gun"

OK, I'll bite. What are the odds? How many stops end up with a cop looking at a gun?

1 in 10? 1 in 1,000? 1 in 10,000? 1 in 100K?

Do you even have a clue? Do you even have any cop friends that will tell you how many times they have pulled their weapon to defend themselves?

Is everything you know about LE what you see on the Hollywood "cop as action hero" TV shows?

and you didn't answer my question...who do you think deserves the 100K a year, the pilot or the cop?

O.K. sa1 I'll bite back. What makes you so certain that police officers don't deserve their wages and benefits simply for their customer contacts with such narrow persons such as you? I understand having a beef over a parking or speeding ticket but do you really think the police should be paid much less than the figures you provide? How low would you want to drive wages and benefits? Should police work for free?

I understand this need for political reform and don't like all this advertising from groups and associations because I think they undermine the individual voter and create some lazy voters. But the courts always uphold these advertisements as free speech.The Texan VanWolfswinkel's committee of himself, two disgruntled out of town residents and another out of town attorney really takes this to a new lowered level.

Don M: As is common for those of your political persuasion, you confuse political assocations with philosophical beliefs. VanW is not my buddy, nor in fact do I know him at all, but I do believe he is entitled to spend his money as he sees fit, as are you, even on the rather disgusting antiCushman ad (free speech and all, which in my mind applies to all, not just those who agree with you). As to whether he thinks he will benefit from the spending, consider this: spending $500K to a billionaire is like spending $50 to someone with $100K in the bank. Gotta look at the percentages, not just the numbers.

As for corruption in government? I refer you to a recent article in The Economist comparing Texas and California. Eye-opening bit of journalism from our Brit friends. California can't get out of its own way as it spirals downward, unlike some other states (like Ohio) where compromise isn't just a word.

And for the "Bush is a liar" crowd, of which I suspect you are a charter member, there is still, after all this time, no proof that Bush lied, unlike our Ms. Capps, who clearly lied when she accepted term-limit money and then ran for a 3rd, and 4th, and 5th, and ......term.

So try to control your prejudices, Don, and learn to think analytically. BTW, just so we are clear, I consider my namesake's friend John Adams to have been absolutely correct when he argued that the two party system would be the downfall of the Republic. Clearly, many people align by label, as you do, instead of by policy issues. So much easier that way - don't hafta think at all....

Well consider me tarred and feathered by John Adams's friend John Locke. Not so worthy of someone of your stature. Your words are oh so ordinarily the pot calling the kettle black. Apparently this country got off to a very bad hypocritical start with tainted and plagiarized words as negro slave laborers toiled in the erection of the Nation's Capitol Building and White House. John Locke, I don't understand why you are still so bitter. Is it because even today you still haven't been effective at hustling off the mentally ill from your West Beach grounds or your very beautiful Santa Barbara proper.

BTW I am not part of any crowd but I would agree that "Bush is a liar."

Got proof?

Don,

It's not about deserving. It's about being fair and ethical. It's about a union that has no competitor and the public officials that pander to them in hopes of getting their block votes. This election is shaping up to show that a small voting block really can win an election which is why every pol says that public safety is the number one concern...not jobs, infrastructure or lower taxes. We all know that instilling fear in the public through constant media headlines is a great way to garner support. The falacy is that the police will do a better job if they are paid more.

If the public safety is truely at risk, then wouldn't it be practical to decrease wages by 20% and hire 20% more bodies? I doubt any cop making 100K is going to quit if he's only making 80K. If they do, then we get to bring new hires in at a lower cost. This is what the commercial world does. The airlines have been running a two tier system for decades and have never had a dirth of applicants who have invested tens of thousands of dollars in their own education.

How much is a police academy cadet asked to spend on his traing? I don't know but I expect it is zero...

Ask a doctor how much much they've spent then compare their income to a police sargeant or worse a lieutenant.

Ask any of the 45K average SB salary maker what they would accept as pay if they had a guaranteed 80% retirement for life bonus starting at age 52.

My point is that we are way overpaying for service based on the pols wanting to look like they're tough on crime and have endless money to spend to ensure public safety as if this is the only thing that concerns the citizenry.

Don't try to reason with Don. He clearly hates America and all it came from and stands for. Any comment to the right of farthest Left sends him into irrational hysteria.

John Locke: Everyone lies<<< how's that for honesty.

sa1: Many employers pay for training employees for various reasons. You make good points about disparities but I disagree that the negotiated wages and benefits are out of line for the work performed. Paying for new workers by decreasing pay for current employees is an option but a bad precedent. Two-tier pay schedules are terrible for the workers and creates all kinds of workplace problems.

Keep in mind that even flip flopper Dale Francisco was for months long negotiated give backs and nominal pay raises city employees negotiated for until the last moment when he could make one of his consent calendar political grandstanding issues.

I don't think it wise to continue this trend to promote this trend that government should operate like a business or as the "commercial world" does. Recent events reveals that businesses or the "commercial world" operates on borrowing rather than "balanced budgets." Just ask Steve Cushman how many of the small businesses have failed due to "operating like a business" as well as competing greedy landlord businesses.

All of the city's enterprise budgets are in good shape but the general fund is in trouble due to Chamber of Commerce lobbying at the national level creating wild swings in our economy and benefiting the wealthy. It is a world wide financial problem isn't it and brought on by conservative principals. So let us not pick on hard working wage earners. Lets work on getting better pay and benefits for all workers.

Other ways to pay for more police, higher wages and benefits and balance budgets is to return to tax rates at the top tiers of the wealthy that were in place during earlier years of the previous century. I have never heard of an extremely wealthy person that really works much more than the lesser paid. The wealthy will still be wealthy and we'll all get better services. Ingenuity won't be stifled as propagandized. Also higher tax rates on the wealthy and capital gains for short term transactions would keep speculators in check and stabilize financial markets from these wild manipulated swings.