Notes from my Knapsack 10-21-21

Notes from my Knapsack 10-21-21

Jeff Gill

Places and spaces and upkeep in general

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Our Fayre Village has more actual voting to do than usual this go-round.

I'd say "this Election Day" which is coming up on November 2 as has long been the general election pattern, but how many will vote on "the day"? 50%? 40%? Are we heading south of 30%?

Regardless, whether in downtown Newark for early voting or by mail in absentee ballots or in one of our fine precinct locations on that November Tuesday, we will have to put on our thinking caps this time.

There's a vast sprawling pile of charter amendments in the village, which all seem like administrative matters to me: does democracy really benefit from us voting on this stuff? But it's interesting to be reminded — and perhaps this is the real point of the exercise — of how our village council and staff are hedged about with legal mandates, some federal or state imposed, but not a few created by our own action, and so modifiable by our own decisions. 

So I'm glad to offer my view on what we'll do there.

Granville schools on the board member level ask us to make choices, and for both village council and township trustees, we have to figure out what to do, and not just click or mark or somehow tally our approval for a single candidate, a truly ungratifying use of the franchise. Voting should give us a visceral sense of "hah!" We all know we vote against almost as often as we're truly voting for. "Not you" is part of the democratic process as much as anointing or inaugurating or otherwise affirming someone as "the one."

It gets trickier in that we have to keep track of a couple in each office, among a larger number, not just "pick one." Again, we need to do our homework, check into details, ask around even. There are folks happy to help with that, including elsewhere in this paper, and the video forums that the League of Women Voters and the Granville Chamber of Commerce have hosted are still online to view and learn from.

Kudos to every last person who is running, even ones I know I won't be voting for. It's work to get on the ballot, to run even half-heartedly, and there's always the risk you might win and have to serve. There's little (okay, nothing) to gain and much to hazard for a candidate in these local offices, but their impact on local lives is not inconsiderable. Thank you for your attempts to serve, one and all. 

Do I have preferences? Sure, but I don't do endorsements. That's not this column's role. I will hope for editorial indulgence if I just add I'm going to have to vote for the Licking Park District replacement levy, in part because I was at their first meeting back in the early 90s, have loved their work ever since, and they mow my 1,600 acre backyard for me, metaphorically speaking. Those parks and trails and walking paths soothe my soul, and have been good for my spirits in a tough time, and a yes vote is my thank you!

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio; he likes to walk to clear his head, which should happen more often than it does. Tell him how you recharge and renew at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.