By AMELIA MORRISON HIPPS
In roughly four months, all of us will be ringing in 2014, which also will mark another election year for major localand state positions. As each person comes forth and publicly announces his or her intentions to run for office, it’s important to pay attention, learn about each candidate and ask questions about why they want to seek public office.
It’s also important that we all look beyond the campaign rhetoric and become involved. And then forget about a couple of things that really do not matter
when it comes to his or her ability to govern once elected, such as whether they were born and reared here or moved here from somewhere else. What matters is his or her ability to make the hard decisions that are in the best interest of our counties and Tennessee.
I heard someone say the following recently: “The majority of people concern themselves more with national elections than state or local elections. Do they not realize that state and local elected officials impact their daily lives and livelihood more than any other elected positions?”
The answer is, “No. They don’t realize it.” People turn out and volunteer for U.S., senate, congressional and presidential elections more often than they do for local or state elections because those are the ones that dominate the national news cycles. But if ever there was a time when a little digging and fact checking is necessary, it is when it comes to the state and local candidates for public office. Yes, Congress and the president implement policies that affect everyone in the country, but it’s those at the state and local levels who have the power to enact policies that impact your lives on a daily basis.
Think about this for a minute. Local and state elected officials hold the power to pass policies that impact the following areas of your daily life: the overall safety of your community, your home in regards to where and how you build it, your children’s education, your water, sewage and trash services, your business’s ability to thrive, the ability to attract and/or keep businesses or industries that provide jobs, the condition of the roads you drive daily, the recreational opportunities for you and your children, and much more.
So, as we head into a big election year, take notice, jot down names, get contact information and start calling or writing, asking questions. Invite the candidates to your book club, civic organization, and homeowners association meetings to learn about them and their platform. Then after you’ve learned all you can, select the ones you feel will do the best job and help him or her get elected. Volunteer your time by holding a fundraiser, working a phone bank, canvassing a neighborhood or putting out yard signs.
In other words, get involved. The decisions these individuals will make in the coming years will impact you and our community immensely.
2014 Elections
Scheduled for the ballot box in the Aug. 7, 2014 County General/State Primary Election are the following races:
Wilson County Races
- Wilson County Mayor
- All 25 Wilson County Commission seats
- Sheriff
- Trustee
- Circuit Court Clerk
- County Clerk
- Register of Deeds
- Chancellor
- District Attorney General
- Public Defender
- Circuit Court Judge – Divisions I and II
- Criminal Court Judge
- General Sessions Judge – Divisions I, II and III
- Constable – All Zones
- Lebanon Special School District – At-large Member
- Wilson County School Board Members – Zones 2 and 4
State Primary Races
- Governor
- State Senate – District 17
- State Representatives – Districts 46 and 57
- State Republican and Democratic Executive Committeeman and Woman – District 17
Federal Primary Races
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. Congress – 6th District
Scheduled for the ballot box in the Nov. 4, 2014 State General/City Election are the following races:
City Elections
- City of Lebanon – Wards 3, 4 and 6
- City of Mt. Juliet – Districts 2 and 4
- City of Watertown – Three (3) At-Large Aldermen
State Primary Races
- Governor
- State Senate – District 17
- State Representatives – Districts 46 and 57
- State Republican and Democratic Executive Committeeman and Woman – District 17
Federal Primary Races
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. Congress – 6th District