A Confession: I Voted And I Didn't Like It

I received my ballot this past Tuesday. I have since returned it. I used to wait until election day to actually vote, but not his year. I have always enjoyed voting on the actual election day, it feels very patriotic, very democratic, very…American to actually cast your vote at the exact same time as millions of other Americans were casting their ballots as we decided the course that our country would embark on over the next several years. I also used the extra time to ponder about various issues and candidates, to extrapolate the various implications and possible outcomes of my vote. Often, my mind was not truly made up on candidates and issues until I was standing in line, there have also been times that I changed my mind about issues on the ballot as I was voting. But not this year. This year, the issues were pretty clear for me. I was either for something on the ballot or against something on the ballot. No wavering, no pondering, nothing. This year I looked at the ballot and I knew exactly how I was going to vote.

My politics have stayed pretty much the same for years; fiscally/economically conservative, socially moderate shading a little towards conservative. I am a registered Republican and I have been since I turned 18. However, I have never in my life voted a straight Republican ticket. I vote for the candidate, not the party. Basing your vote upon the letter after the candidates last name is not only lazy but also irresponsible voting. Despite never voting a straight Republican ticket I did do something on this ballot I’ve never done before and never thought I would ever do- not vote Republican for president. Not only did I not vote for a Republican for president, I did something I never thought I would ever do- vote for a Democrat for president.

Now before my Republican friends castigate me and my Democrat friends praise me, let me be clear about this point: I did not vote FOR Hillary Clinton, I voted AGAINST Donald Trump. I have as many misgivings about Clinton being president as anyone else I don’t care for her, I do not trust her, I am not inspired by her. However, I do know she is smart, has a firm grasp of the issues, understands politics well, and is knowledgeable about the U.S. Constitution and how our government works. All of which is more than I can say about Donald Trump.

I have never been more horrified by a candidate from my party than I have been with Donald Trump. Aside from the fact that Trump seems to have very little, if any depth in his policy beliefs and seems to only speak in sharp soundbites designed to bring thunderous applause from his sycophants, there are other, just as troubling reasons why I could not cast a vote for this man to be my president. In addition to his horrific, disgusting comments concerning his views on how he thinks women should be treated (which really don’t need to be linked here in this column because I would prefer to keep this forum family friendly) there are numerous other instances and reasons that I simply cannot support Donald Trump for president.

The leader, the face of my party should never threaten, publicly or privately, member of his own party if they do not support his candidacy. Donald Trump did this to the Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. http://fortune.com/2016/03/01/donald-trump-threatens-paul-ryan/ The candidate for president from my party would never question the war hero status of POW’s such as John McCain. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/us/politics/trump-belittles-mccains-war-record.html?_r=0 Nor should my candidate question the toughness or resolve of combat veterans who suffer from PTSD. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/10/03/trump-ptsd-comments/91509626/ No candidate for president should ever tell the other candidate that if elected he is going to work to put the other in jail. Such remarks are what one would expect from a tin-pot, paper hat wearing, banana-republic dictator, not a candidate for president of the most powerful democracy the world has ever seen. http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/09/politics/eric-holder-nixon-trump-presidential-debate/ When a candidate declares in an open mic during a debate that their opponent is “such a nasty” person, this is not behavior I wish to have from my president. http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/09/politics/eric-holder-nixon-trump-presidential-debate/ When my party’s candidate begins claiming vote fraud before one vote has been counted http://www.nationalreview.com/article/441173/donald-trump-rigged-election-voter-fraud-claims-unfounded seems to indicate that he is laying the ground work to dispute a loss in the election. This belief is only emboldened when Trump refused to say if he would accept the outcome of the election. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-idUSKCN12J0ZM?il=0 Even Richard Nixon accepted the outcome of the 1960 election and refused to challenge it despite being encouraged to do so by members of his own party and had fairly substantial evidence that there was voter fraud in Chicago and Texas. As if all these above reasons were not enough for me and other Republicans to ostracize Trump as our candidate for president, the final nail in the coffin should be the fact that in 1985 Trump took out a full sized ad in the New York Times criticizing Ronald Reagan (one of my political idols) saying the same things that he is now claiming will happen if Clinton is elected. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/donald-trump-ronald-reagan-213288 To criticize Reagan is anathema to Republicans (even though Reagan would be disowned by today’s Republican Party as a RINO) and Trump did just that in 1985. That alone should set Republicans hair on fire and cause them to disown him. Furthermore, Trump supported Clinton in 2008 saying she would “make a great president”, yet another reason for Republicans to disavow anything to do with him. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-in-2008-hillary-clinton-would-make-a-great-president/ And yet, here he remains. Bad hair, orange skin, hollow rhetoric, blustery arguments and all.

So, I begrudgingly cast my vote for Hillary Clinton. For the first time ever, I voted for a Democrat for president. It is truly disappointing that these two individuals are who we have to choose from. Had the Republicans run anyone of their candidates from the past few years- McCain of 2008, Romney, or even a 1992 George H.W. Bush-against Clinton, this election would have been wrapped up by the beginning of September. Conversely, had the Democrats run Kerry or Gore against Trump the election would be over by now as well. But, that didn’t happen and this is what we have; two choices and neither of them are all that desirable. So, yes I cast my vote for Clinton and dropped my ballot in the box. I didn’t like it, I’m not proud of my choice, and didn’t like either of my options. But then again, I haven’t liked, been proud of, or even felt good about my own party for several years now.

2020 can’t get here soon enough.

The First Tuesday After the First Monday of November

35.

35 days.

35 days until election day. That’s all there is. In 35 days we will choose a new president for our country (hopefully we choose wisely), we will vote for representatives in congress and the state legislature, we will decide if the tobacco tax should be increased, residents of Arvada will decide if city taxes should be increased for much needed infrastructure improvements, and voters in Jefferson County will decide whether or not to increase their property taxes for their schools. We all know the school district sorely needs the money in order to remain competitive with area school districts so this post will not be about why the Mill and Bond is needed, we are the proverbial choir- no preaching needed. But here is the thing; the voters in this district are largely uninformed about 3A/3B. Not so much in the way that they don’t know why the money is needed (although that is true as well), the voting public is uninformed in that they don’t even know the issue is even on the ballot! To compound that problem is the fact that this ballot is a LOOOOOOOOONG ballot and 3A/3B will very likely be at the end of the ballot. Voting fatigue is a real thing. Voters get either bored or exhausted while voting on a long ballot and very often they will not even bother to cast a vote on issues that are at the end of ballot. To ensure that 3A/3B passes it is up to us to inform voters 1) That there is a Mill and Bond measure on the ballot for JeffCo Schools and why it is needed and 2) to be sure to vote in favor of 3A/3B. But here is the rub- there have been very few of us out walking to ensure these two points happen this November. That is alarming, frightening, disconcerting, disheartening, and confusing all at once. We all want this to pass but it seems as though people believe “others” will get it passed. Guess what? The “others” are you, me, the school secretary, the kindergarten para, the facilities manager, and the teacher across the hall. 3A/3B won’t pass because I, Beth Low, or Lara Center, Paula Reed or John Ford walk, knocks and talks to voters. It will pass because YOU walk, knock and talk as well. That is the only way this ballot issue passes.

Now, I know there are lots of legitimate reasons why some people don’t feel compelled to walk so I’d like to take a moment to address those issues.

I’d Like To Walk, Knock and Talk But I Just Don’t Have The Time

Time is finite and we all have demands in our life that chews up our free time. I get this. I am currently teaching three different preps one of which is an AP class, I am getting my second Master’s Degree, I am a JCEA building rep, I am on the Board of Directors for JCEA, I also have a wife and two sons that I have to find time for. My time is extraordinarily limited between reading and writing papers, grading, lesson planning, meetings, responding to parent emails and phone calls and spending quality time with my family. I just do not have much time left after all that. However, I also know that 3A/3B is important for me, my education colleagues, my students and most importantly my own children. So I find the time to take a few hours out of my Saturday mornings to walk knock and talk. No one expects you to walk every single Saturday, I haven’t been able to, but one Saturday is all that is needed. If you can do more- GREAT! I truly believe that if something is important you can always make time for it. The passage of this Mill and Bond is very important in so many ways.

After The Last Few Years I Am So Exhausted And Worn Out

Yeah, I get this one as well. I am worn out as well. We were engaged in a literal fight for our professional lives the last few years. Fighting is exhausting and not all that much fun. It does wear you out. This is a legitimate complaint. However, this is not a fight. There really is not a lot of organized opposition on this issue. This is more about working for the culmination of a celebration that started last year at this time when we won a fight for the soul of our district. To complete the arc that we began last year, 3A/3B must pass.

I also understand the feeling that we went into education to work with students NOT to get involved in elections and politics. Believe me, all I want to do is go into my classroom, shut my door and teach. In a perfect world that is exactly what I would do. Unfortunately, we live in time where education seems to be a focal point of politics. Republicans have their education agenda as do Democrats. We can choose to sit back and allow what happens to our profession take place or we can become actively involved and try to steer public policy in a way that we know is best for education. I always want to have some control over what happens to me instead of just allowing things to happen to me.

We Have A Board Of Education That Once Again Respects Us Why Must We Go Out And Walk Again To Get Money

Yes, it is true we have a BOE that respects us and we worked hard to get a sane and respectful board. However, that only gave us a sane and respectful board. It did not solve the money problem that was exacerbated by the previous board. Other than having good people on the BOE, VERY LITTLE was solved with the election last year. Had the election last year not turned out as it did, we would not have the opportunity that we now have. The previous board would have never asked for a Mill and Bond increase. Remember, they were more than content to allow this district to languish and deteriorate to prove they were good stewards of tax money. If we don’t work to get this Mill and Bond passed, we will allow the previous board’s plan to come to fruition even though they are no longer around. We can choose to work to validate the board we helped get elected or we can choose to allow WNW win despite their loss a year ago.

I Am So Angry/Disappointed/Frustrated With My Raise! I Sacrificed For This District 6 Years Ago And This Is How I’m Rewarded?

I too am very frustrated and disappointed in my raise. $34 extra a month is just not cutting it! I willingly took a pay cut and freeze several years ago to help the district out and to keep cuts away from my students and I’ve patiently waited for six years for my salary to recover, meanwhile, my living expenses have steadily increased. You should be angry. Oh sure, we will get a nice bonus check at the end of this month and our pay will end up being 4% more than last year, however next year we may be back to our minimal increase without the additional 4%. This will most probably happen IF 3A/3B does not pass. If we want the 4% to be ongoing and not a nice Christmas bonus, the Mill and Bond must pass.

On a side note, our anger cannot be directed at our JCEA negotiations team; it should be at the district negotiations team. Remember, last year the district floated the idea of giving all teachers a $500 bonus and then they came to the table with a 1% increase.  JCEA pushed and pushed until they got the district to agree to give all teachers 4% more this year than last. Most did not get a 4% raise, but we are all going to get 4% more this year than we did last year. Again, if we want this be ongoing, we have to work to get 3A/3B passed.

I think I’ve addressed all of the reasons I’ve heard from people about why they haven’t walked or don’t want to walk. For the next portion of the show, I would like to discuss what will happen if 3A/3B passes or if it fails. I’m a firm believer in saving the best for last, so let’s look first at what will happen if it does not pass.

What Will Happen if 3A/3B Does Not Pass?

Dark, bleak times in JeffCo is what will happen. School closures, school consolidations, redrawing of boundaries, draconian cuts in SBB, elimination of after school activities and programs, staff reductions, continued exodus of education professionals, continued overcrowding in elementary schools, continued deterioration of buildings.

My kids, your kids will suffer mightily. I can’t believe that any of us want these things to happen, so I must also believe that we all want 3A/3B to pass and we all know what it will take for that to happen…. WALK, KNOCK AND TALK!

And now for the fun part…

What Will Happen if 3A/3B DOES Pass?

I would like to say that we will march triumphantly into broad, sunlight lands and all of our troubles will melt away as we live happily ever after. While this is not going to happen, our lives will improve.

Our salaries will increase! Yes! I would like to yell from the mountain top to the district as negotiations begin this spring “NOT ONE THIN DIME, NOT ONE RED CENT FOR ANY DISTRICT PROGRAMS OR INITIATIVEs, EITHER NEW OR EXISTING, UNTIL WE ADDRESS COMPENSATION!” I don’t know about you, but I’m so tired of the district paying for various programs and initiatives (I’m looking at you PLC’s) first and then kicking the remainder to educators. How about we flip that script. We took a pay cut and freeze six years ago. If we were one of the first places the district came six years ago looking to reduce costs, then we should be among the first things to be addressed if additional revenue is forthcoming. Programs and initiatives do not work unless they are implemented and maintained by quality, knowledgeable people. You attract and retain quality and knowledgeable people by compensating them well.

Furthermore, if the Mill and Bond pass, we can begin to address so many of the needed building issues and upgrades that our schools sorely need. School based programming will remain intact. Some neighborhood schools will remain open. Teaching materials and conditions will be upgraded. And best of all, the greatest beneficiaries of all of these benefits will be the students in our district.

So please, sometime over the course of the next 35 days, carve out a little bit of time to walk, knock and talk for 3A/3B. Imagine the feeling on election night when we win and you have the satisfaction of knowing you helped in that win. Our students deserve it, my kids deserve it, your kids deserve it.