A Courting We Must Go

The registered voters of Uptown Troy NY are not courted for our votes. Our numbers are considered insignificant and therefore we’re bypassed during political campaigns. The only politicians we’ll see – maybe – are the candidates for our council seat and the mayor. County and state candidates are guided away from most of our Uptown neighborhoods. Heck even the band of volunteers, who petitioned to have the way our council representatives are elected & our districts changed, didn’t court registered Uptown voters for their signature. Campaign managers will put their limited campaign funds to use where they are going to have the most impact; the money will talk to the most votes.

Take the school board elections in the spring for example. If you drove North Lake Avenue during the campaign you saw at least four different lawn signs promoting different candidates yet in Uptown only one candidate placed lawn signs.  The numbers are more significant in that section of Troy and therefore their votes were courted. And they vote - consistently. Until the number of registered voters increases in Uptown Troy NY, we will continue to be perceived as insignificant. Sadly, even with School 2 hanging in the balance, very few of our Uptown voters actually turned out to vote. And therein lies the second concern. If we can’t get our registered voters out to vote when an issue this pressing is occurring, why try increasing the number registered to do so? A bump in the number of registered voters will create, at least briefly, an opportunity for courtship. It’s the courtship that brings the interaction with candidates that allows us to make informed decisions and gives us the chance to affect discussions.

In order for the process to work, citizens MUST work the process. We MUST seek out our opportunities to interact. We MUST educate ourselves on the issues. We MUST understand our own values, positions and stands. We MUST vote. We MUST remind our registered neighbors to vote. We MUST encourage our neighbors who aren’t yet registered to vote to get registered.