The Strength of Like-Minded People - Why Votes Count

We must take every opportunity to express our thanks to the brave men and women who have fought and sacrificed to secure our freedom from the days of our American Revolution to the present. Their sacrifice secured what every person naturally has - the unalienable rights granted by our Creator:

• The freedom to speak one’s mind

• The freedom to worship as one desires

• The freedom to keep and bear arms

These are but a few of the sacred rights shared by “We the People”!

Through God’s Divine blessings and the sacrifice of our military we enjoy all the freedoms that our Declaration of Independence first announced to the King of England and, which were later enshrined in the greatest government document ever created – our Constitution.

There is, however, one precious right (I call it a gift from God) that liberty provided, which if not regularly exercised, places into jeopardy all other rights. I am speaking of the right that sustains all the other rights – that being the freedom and privilege to vote and select those whom we want to represent our voices in our government. Our brave men and women may secure our liberties, but our voting sustains those liberties.

The reason I have chosen the subject of voting for one of my blogs is the fact that the typical voting percentages that we see in our local elections is poor.

Before I cite an example of this, keep in mind that Rowlett has an estimated 41,000 plus registered voters. During the 2019 city council elections, Place 4, which I won in 2022 and the same place I am running for reelection this year, had a total of 2,064 votes cast, of which Mr. Whitney Laning received 745 votes. Neither Mr. Laning nor the second-place finisher received 50% or more of the votes, so a run- off election was held on June 8 th . The total number of votes cast in the run-off election totaled 903 votes, where Mr. Laning won his seat with a 51.72% margin. Again, keep in mind that we have in excess of 41,000 registered voters in our city. So, I used the word “poor” previously, but a more appropriate

word to describe Rowlett’s voting percentages is “pathetic”!

National elections (depending on who’s running) will have a good year when the voter turnout is 60% or higher. On average, local elections will only garner 27% or less in city elections. If that is true, then Rowlett is far below the average since we typically will see a 2 to 5% turnout of eligible voters.

Why so few vote in local elections? There are several reasons ranging from apathy to the belief that local elections don’t really matter. What many don’t realize is that local government can have as much or a greater impact on your lives than state or federal elections. There is also that common misconception that believes “my vote is just one vote, and it probably doesn’t really matter.”

Mr. Laning won Place 4 with a mere 31 vote margin during the run-off election.

Do Votes Really Matter? Consider the below:

• In 1800 – Thomas Jefferson was elected President by one vote in the House of

Representatives after a tie in the Electoral College.

• In 1824 – Andrew Jackson won the presidential popular vote but lost by one vote in the

House of Representatives to John Quincy Adams after an Electoral College deadlock.

• In 1845 – The U.S. Senate passed the convention annexing Texas by two votes (27/25).

I could cite more examples, but you get the message. Your vote counts.

If one vote truly counts, and it does, consider the power of many like-minded people coming together with a common purpose and a focused goal – to see our city prosper and truly operate within the mindset of government existing for the mutual benefit of every citizen.

I am truly thankful to each of you who joined this team to help me win Place 4 on the council in 2022. I remain grateful to those who are supporting my reelection to Place 4 this May. We are like-minded in our beliefs, our principals, and our desire to see our city government operate, as intended, at the behest of the people. When this happens, we are the “Strength of Like-Minded People.”

You’re reading this posting, but you don’t really know me well enough to support my campaign yet. I would love to meet and share with you who I am and why I am running. If so, please email me at mike4rowlettcc@gmail.com As always, thanks for the trust and confidence you have placed in me to run for and hopefully continue representing you on the Council.

Mike4Rowlett