Elections.
“It ain’t over till it’s over,” as Yogi used to say.
As I sit here watching The Enterprise-Tocsin Facebook page post unofficial City of Indianola Democratic Primary Election results for each ward and the mayor, I’m praying the official results will be just what the city, county, and Delta area need. Some stability and a positive force moving forward to lead, build, grow, lean into, and walk the rough road of leadership in the Delta.
With the votes very close in the mayor and Ward 5 race, the speculation, at my deadline, is there will be a runoff election. More time spent for candidates and incumbents to politic and ask for your vote. But perhaps if more folks had hit the polls, one or the other would have won the primary. But then again if enough of each supporters had gotten out, there would still be a tie.
Anyway, there will be another vote getting day. Go and do your civic duty and vote for the candidate of your choice. Growing up in Sunflower County, I really don’t recall such a hotly contested election but then again, I have a hard time remembering what I ate for supper last Tuesday or where I was at suppertime last Tuesday.
Anyway, it ain’t over till it’s over, and the last casted ballot is tallied, the final absentee ballot is opened, reviewed, and counted. But here’s the thing: why don’t we just keep the ballots from all the folks who took the time to go to the poll the first time? The others who didn’t make it for one reason or another can still go vote. Is anyone really going to change their mind about their candidate? I think the real issue is fighting over the less than a hundred votes that went to the third-place finisher in the mayor’s race. Maybe just open one polling place for those folks to go and recast their votes since the rest couldn’t make it.
But that’s not what the country was founded on and how the system works. We take those primary results and move to the next one with fewer folks on the ballot and hopefully come up with a winner for each position.
The bottom line is just get out and vote. I’m not an Indianola resident so I can’t vote in the city election. But I’m asking everyone who can to please do. Then everybody get behind the winner, hold them accountable to their campaign promises and move forward, don’t look back or sideways or too far ahead. Have them tackle what’s in front of them with support from the community.
Like Rocky told his son in Rocky 5 and now to the political candidates.
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!”
Amen, Rocky. Now get out and vote, please and thank you!
