Mountrail County Promoter - Columnists

Get Out And Vote
The June Primary Election is just around the corner with polls open in Mountrail County on Tuesday, June 11 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.  A list of polling places and sample ballots appear elsewhere in this week’s paper.
Primary elections tend to see lower voter turnouts than general elections, but for many on the ballots this election day this is an important election. In some races, it is true, that candidates will advance to the November General Election. There are other races, though, where the number of candidates means that they need your support if they are to advance to the General Election.
Primary election day is also the city elections and school board elections. These races will be determined in this election. While generally many city races are uncontested, or a city is lucky to get enough people on the ballot to fill the open positions, that is not the case in all positions this year. Unfortunately, there are some races that will be determined by a write-in vote. In other races, there are contested races to determine who will serve voters for the terms.
Beyond that, I am a firm believer in exercising your right to vote. It is also important that you become an informed voter.
Voting, to me, is a personal decision. I find myself struggling with the primary in that North Dakota requires you to vote in only one party when it comes to the state and national races. That frustrates me because I want to vote for the candidate not the party. I realize that in most cases it won’t impact the November election at this point, but it is more of a matter of principal. I’ve been known to undervote in the primary for that reason. I sometimes just can’t bring myself to vote for some candidates.
That being said, I will still exercise my right to vote next Tuesday. With some races to be impacted and others decided, I believe that is necessary.
I’m also a firm believer that if you do not go to the polls and exercise your right to vote you should not complain later if you are unhappy with the results. Over and over I’ve heard people say, “I’m just one vote. It doesn’t matter.” That’s not true. Every vote matters and every vote counts. Close races are not uncommon and if more voters take that attitude it absolutely matters.
I know that for many of us, we are overloaded with the political advertising this year. As we get closer to election day, candidates are flooding the airwaves, your mailbox and newspapers hoping to garner your support.
I am really tired of the negative campaigning. It becomes harder and harder to listen to, read or watch. Negative campaigning, unfortunately, has become a staple in politics. I wish that wasn’t true. I don’t want to hear why you think your opponent is bad for the job or ads that distort a candidates record. I want to know why you are right for the job. I want to know what you bring to the table that makes you the person that I should vote for. It will be interesting to see how the campaign changes after the Primary Election, when some of these races have been narrowed to less candidates. I fear it will be more of the same, but I’m going to tip my hat to those candidates that choose to take the high road now and through November. I appreciate knowing why you want my vote and what you see as the issues most pressing for our state and nation as we move forward.
It  Was A Beautiful Day
For the first time ever, Dale and I were asked to be “hole spotters” at the annual Mountrail County Health Foundation’s Golfing Fore A Cause last Saturday. Our friends, Don and Connie Longmuir, usually do the job, but they had to be in Bismarck for a funeral.
When Steph Everett first asked me, I really wasn’t sure, but we eventually agreed.
Thank goodness Saturday was a nice day. It was a bit windy, but the sun was out and the temperatures were wonderful. I was sitting on hole five at the tee box. It was really pretty pleasant up there. Dale, on the other hand, was by the green on five. He might have sent me a text once about thinking he might have to tie his chair to a tree.
Spotters are needed because of some of the prizes offered for a hole in one. Unfortunately, nobody went home with the Ford Bronco that was the prize on hole five. There were a few that might have come close, but not quite.
After leaving the golf course, we met Amanda, Zach and the kids at the zoo in Minot. Amanda was returning her dad’s car after using it for the last month. They were ready to get it off the street at their house now that she can go back to driving her own car.
It was a beautiful day to be at the zoo. We got to see the new lion club and wander around for a while. The kids love to go to the zoo. It’s a little bit of a challenge as there is construction underway again this year. The construction, though, will mean great things for the zoo and the animals that call it home. A little inconvenience now means great improvements later!