Health & Fitness
Special Elections - Not So Special
What is it with the churn of people leaving office mid-term?
When is a special election not so special? When we have one every few months. For several years. In a row. And mix into that candidates who leave their currently elected positions for others. Yes, those are separate, yet interconnected issues. It feels like a big game of musical chairs.
Stepping Up
I totally understand some of the people leaving office. When the president calls, you have to at least listen. Eg, Sen John Kerry as Secretary of State and Gov Paul Cellucci as Ambassador to Canada. Yes, that's typical of any administration picking his or her team. Sen Ted Kennedy - well what can one say.
When an unexpected higher level spot opens up, I can understand those striving to step up (Markey last month, Brownsberger earlier this year). Often these are once in a career opportunities, like the race evolving to fill Markey's US Rep seat.
Lets just skip over those who had to bail because of some scandal. (Sal DiMasi, Newt Gingrich, Anthony Weiner, and others with high profiles.)
Greed or Impatience?
But what of those just abandoning their elected position, for a totally out of scope position? Examples: South Carolina Sen Jim DeMint left for the Heritage Foundation (yeah, for more than $1M per year. I'd love his old $174k salary.) Gov Sarah Palin, God help us, bailed for Fox. Our former state senator Steve Tolman bailed for the state AFL-CIO, and Lt Gov Tim Murray hit the ejector button (before crashing into the mountain?) for a small city's Chamber of Commerce. Geeze, these guys couldn't hold on for a year or two?
This happens closer to home too. Dan Sharfman (School Committee) and Matt Sullivan (Library Trustees) hoped to leave the remainder of their first terms behind in 2012, and that was just a regular election. There are examples of this all over the country at all levels.
Effect on Voters' Attitudes
Electorate watchers lament the low voter interest and turnout across the US. I think the root of some of this is low candidate interest in - and respect - for the electorate. You get the job, stick to it for your 2 to 4 year term. Then come interviewing for the next job. In my line of work, if someone has a record of jumping around, it's a big negative. If candidates embraced and respected offices more, perhaps the votes would too.
This whole thing is like musical chairs, but new players keep entering and the game never stops. Or perhaps a treadmill - Jane, stop this crazy thing!
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