Dear editor,
A privately funded investigation into the results of Crestview’s March 8, 2011 election for mayor has determined that 11,083 potential voters were disenfranchised.
A chilling fact in itself.
How was it possible that the largest city in Okaloosa county had 11,083 disenfranchised voters?
After months of interviews, the final analysis found that candidates and voters are collectively an apathetic group.
Consider this fact: If there had been two strong candidates in the March 8 election, the winner would have received 699 votes and the loser 688.
If 12 of Crestview’s disenfranchised voters had moved from apathetic to voting, our recent history would have changed.
On March 10, we the citizens of Crestview have an opportunity to set aside our apathetic history and challenge one another to vote.
To move from apathy to voting requires thinking for both the candidate and voter.
A simple test may be to listen to a candidate and ask yourself, “Is this candidate challenging me to think about the future direction for the growth of Crestview, or is the candidate counting on Crestview’s apathetic voter history to win?”
Or, we could follow a national model and encourage anyone seeking office to debate their opponent.
Or, failing to move from apathy to voting, maybe we should change our name from Crestview to Apathetic.
We only need 12 votes.
What's your view? Write a letter to the editor or tweet us.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: LETTER TO THE EDITOR: 11,083 Crestview voters disenfranchised