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Every two years, we take a few minutes of our day to choose the candidate for Virginia’s House of Delegates that we believe will best represent the interests of the 31st District. That date, this year, is Nov. 4. But, before that day arrives, many months of strategic planning and tactical maneuvering by each candidate will take place.
Part of this strategic and tactical process are the telephone calls and direct mailings which are intended to convey each candidate’s position on*matters which affect our towns, villages, communities, counties and district.
The content of these telephone calls and direct mailings are based on polling information that each candidate has acquired from a variety of sources. This polling information tells them what will convince or persuade the electorate to enter the voting booth this November and puirtheir” lever.
This is, in and of itself, a manipulative strategy, which removes the voting citizen from direct contact with the candidate, and their record of performance, and relies heavily on each candidate’s ability to produce the most persuasive view of themselves.
These campaign methods, as well as the use of television at the state and national levels, are exactly what has brought about the apathy which effects most voters and turns them off to the process.
There is a notion that “my vote doesn’t count anyway” by many of the citizens. Nothing could be further from the truth. The vote of each citizen is extremely important!
We only have to look inward, at our own communities to see how our votes, when tallied on election day, either return an incumbent to office because they have represented us well, or replace a poorly performing incumbent with a candidate that the voters believe can do a better job.
The citizens of the 31st District are facing that challenge this year in the House of Delegates race between three men who are vying for the position. Three men who are lining up their direct mail programs and phone banks to barrage the voters between pow and election day with “what they have done” and “what they will do.”
The voters deserve better. I What they deserve is more ! face-to-face debate between ; the candidates on the issues
; Which affect teacher, farmers, i blue collar workers, businesses, the environment, trans.
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88.9%