We’ve seen the ads. We’ve suffered through the debates. We’ve had our ear bent by our friends at the coffee shop, church and the grocery store.
Why, your very own Clarksdale Press Register has even endorsed a couple of issues on the ballot next week.
So it’s your turn to vote and settle this thing.
Everyone has had their say. Now you get to pick up a ballot and choose your future.
All politics is local
A wise old politician once told me all politics is local.
After watching campaigns, elections and political shenanigans for 25 years, I’ve come to the conclusion this is true.
When you look at the national picture, you have to remember that it all filters down to a particular region or community heading to the polls and marking a ballot.
Yes, you can debate the merits of the national media, the two-party system and massive political machines, but I’m always impressed at how it is a man or woman quietly walking into a polling place that determines who is in charge of the greatest and most powerful country on earth.
And it is local people who team up with a particular candidate early on in a campaign that make things happen. They put signs in their yard, bend the ear of family and friends and then make sure their people get out and vote in the primaries and general election.
It’s not a perfect system but it’s the only one we’ve got.
Cindy and Mike
This is the election we are all watching in Coahoma County.
I think Senator Cindy Hyde Smith will take this one based on the votes she will get in Desoto County, Oxford and the rest of Northeast Mississippi. Mike Espy, who has strong family ties in this town, will carry the Delta.
Politics is a mean, nasty, vicious business with vengeance and retribution lasting long after the election.
We’ve seen the television ads on this race by Mike and the nonchalant attitude of Cindy who thinks the race has been handed to her.
This could be Mike’s last race. This won’t be Cindy’s.
Clean Elections
Did you know that voter fraud is a crime and punishable by a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $5,000 and from one- to five-years in jail?
Did you know if you accept a donation of $200 from anyone or any organization, both the donor and candidate must report it or be fined up to $3,000 and up to six month in jail?
Did you know that any expenditure of $200 or more in any state or local race must be reported on financial disclosure forms submitted to the Circuit Clerk's office five months out of the year?
Did you know politics is all about votes and money? The more money you spend the more votes you can get.
Get it over with
There is a ballot printed in your Clarksdale Press Register today on Page 16. It's on this webpage, too.
Please study the list of candidates up for elections and the ballot measures, too.
We need jobs, we need better healthcare, we need politicians who can stand firm on moral issues and we need people who can read a budget and figure out where to cut and where to spend.
The Presidential Election is a chance to start something new. This election is your chance to send a message. The November 2020 general election is a chance to vote on the future of Coahoma County and our country.
I'll see you at the polls.
Floyd Ingram is the Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. Call him at 662-627-2201 and let’s talk about the election.
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