By Rex Reid 

It’s election season again, and roughly fifty percent of the people will not even bother to show up in November. It’s even worse when you consider only twenty five percent turnout in some municipal and primary elections. 

Why is that? Well, IMHO, it has more to do with those that do show up. Than it does with who the candidate is. Trump and maybe a few governors like DeSantis being the exception. 

Sounds crazy but it all centers around the three P’s, Personality, Party and Performance. 

Ask your average voter why they voted for someone in a city or county wide race and you get one of the following. 

You know Jack Hammer went to the same High School I did, and his father owns the pizza place on the corner. 

Well, he goes to my church. Yeah, I think he might be running around on his wife but not everybody is perfect. 

Or one of my personal favorites. He knocked on my door and said vote for me. 

Then comes the party people, and they might even be the best of all. 

Well, he comes to our meetings every now and again. He even listens to me when I talk to him. 

Now, sadly, in Bay County that is somewhat of a rarity, but it shouldn’t be the gold standard. 

Now imagine any of these personality or party voters talking with a perspective/performance voter. Who thinks it is all a waste of time in whole or in part because they see these people defending the indefensible. 

I assume it goes something like this. 

Mr. P2: Hey bud, you really need to vote for our guy. He is in the right party; he coaches Little League, and he is nice to old people. 

Mr. Performance: Really, let’s start with the last one. You mean the same guy or gal in our case who voted to cut taxes for commercial developers by as much as ninety seven percent. All but ensuring our local special assessment goes on forever. 

Which causes elderly people on a fixed income to have to choose between staying in their dream home or buying their medicine? 

You say he is also a member of your party, right? I thought your party believed in smaller government. Yet you are asking me to vote for someone who wants to revive a failed relic of the U.S.S.R. e.g. public transportation. 

That will end up soaking the residents of PCB and Bay County for tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars. When all we really need is some outside the box thinking. Mr. P2: Ok, you tell me how you fix the traffic problem in season Mr. I Don’t Even Vote. 

Mr. Performance: Simple, instead of buying a fleet of “autonomous” vehicles. How about we either use the Bay Way buses that are being sidelined (failed system close by) or our school buses. 

Mr. P2: And just how would that work. 

Mr. Performance: We really only need relief between 3 pm and 9 pm in season. Run either at thirty-minute intervals from Laketown to the traffic circle on Hwy 79 and the problem is solved. 

With the school buses you create some nostalgia for parents and children alike and you already have the buses and the drivers that are off during the summer. Problem solved and it didn’t cost a hundred million dollars. 

Mr. P2: That all sounds good, but I am sticking with my guy. 

Mr. Performance: Color me surprised, and I am guessing you are still confused as to why I don’t bother to vote?