Bill Mick: Sometimes I vote for and sometimes I vote against | Opinion

I voted.

I cast my mail ballot in a drop box at an early voting site over the weekend. It's a hybrid of mail balloting and voting at the polling place. It was fast, easy and I don't care that they are now called Secure Ballot Intake Stations; they are drop boxes no matter how much makeup the Legislature tries to apply to them.  

When we discuss elections on :Bill Mick LIVE" there seems to be a lot of energy around the topic. I see that as a good thing. We should be charged up when it comes to electing government officials. Government impacts our lives in far too many ways for us not to be engaged.  

There are two reasons to go to the polls: to vote for someone or something or to vote against them. It can be a combination of both. That was the case for me.  

As a Republican in my precinct, I had one county commission race and three judgeships on the ballot. 

In the county commission race I voted both for the candidate I believe to be the best in the race and against those that I believe would not fill the role well at all. 

In the judicial races I voted against something — the system. 

It's not that the judicial positions aren't important; they are. It's that the candidates, by virtue of Canon 7 of the judicial code of conduct, can not (or will not) speak of substantive issues during their campaigns. If the seats on the bench are so important, voters should know how these candidates and judges think. Therefore, until the judges and lawyers move to change this bad policy, I will not vote to re-elect any judge to any position. I selected all new candidates on my ballot.  

In the county commission race I selected the candidate I feel will represent us best in the position. That's not a wholehearted endorsement at this point, but it is my vote. Weighing heavier in my decision making was that the other candidates had reputations and actions that made me question their competence should they be elected. I doubt I will agree with the candidate I selected on every issue, but I do believe his decisions will be well informed and with what he believes is in the best interests of Brevard.

 Can we ask for more? 

Either for, against or both, we have decisions to make and the future of our community rests on those decisions. And I am perfectly content having placed my ballot in a drop box — no matter what smoke and mirrors the Legislature wants to use to shroud its true nature.  

Bill Mick is program director and host of “Bill Mick Live” on WMMB-AM. Read more at billmick.com. Support local journalism and become a subscriber.

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