The Political Implications of Measure V Going Down

Earlier this week, I got a bunch of emails from people informing me that, two weeks after election day, the election office was almost done counting ballots and that the local media called Measure V a failure.  If the local media were journalists who really paid any attention to local politics, they would have known this fact after the second drop of ballots.  People who support limited government drop off their ballots on election day, because (shocker) they don't trust the way the local government runs our elections.  So, once Measure V was losing on Tuesday night, anyone who pays attention to politics would know that it was only going to get worse for Measure V as more and more ballots were counted and that the margin would only get wider.  That is exactly what happened.  Not only did the measure go down, but there will also be serious consequences for the County's mishandling of Measure V.

That said, Measure V brings up some broader local questions.  For instance, why do some many people not trust their local election office and bring ballots on election day and not mail them?  Seriously, three weeks to get election results is some third-world shit.  Lol.  Can we please just all go vote on election day like normal countries and get our election results that night like every other developed nation?   Damn.  The elementary school kids electing student council have more secure and efficient elections than their parents.  It is seriously embarrassing.

Also, there is also a huge underlying sentiment locally against government, period.  When it comes to government in California, there is no room for wimps.  California's overbearing government is legendary outside of California and is palpable to its residents.  So many of our friends have left for freer pastures like Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky, South Carolina, and, yes, Florida.  I say jokingly to my friends that you are all wimps!  Instead of fighting these government assholes, you bailed and left us alone in the California wilderness with these morons!  In reality, however and truth be told, many of us want to leave California but just cannot do it.  Whether it be our children, our dearest of friends without whom we simply cannot live, or our hopes for our local community and our state, we just cannot pull the trigger and leave.  

Close your eyes and imagine 30 years ago your best friend looking you dead in the eyes and actually saying, "Dude. I am out. California sucks."  You would have smacked him upside his head.  There was no place cooler to live.  Period.  Full stop.  Everyone wanted to be here.  It is freaking gorgeous, and the weather!?  Please.  I grew up in Chicago, so on the weather angle alone, California is bomb.  Now, imagine at Thanksgiving dinner today your friend looks you in the eyes and says, "Dude. I am out. California sucks."  Instead of smacking him in the melon, you are likely gonna be a little jealous.  The dichotomy is crazy.  Between 2021 and 2022, more people left California than moved here.  That's insane.  How bad is it if people are leaving arguably the most favorable and beautiful geographic area on the entire planet?  Yep, it is that bad, but what does that have to do with Measure V, you ask?

There is a huge swath of our local population that believes that $367,000,000 a year is too much for ineffective local government, and it has to stop.  Seriously.  The County billed Measure V as $12 million magic bullet to prevent the tragedy of Paradise from ever happening in Nevada County.  I call bullshit.  How is that local homeless problem that you have not fixed yet which has been dragging on for 20 years and getting worse instead of better?  Can we please have normal elections like real democracies?  How is the meth problem in town that you apparently have no desire to fix?  My wife and I saw an epic tweaker at the gas station today in the Brunswick Basin.  Dude's upper body was all curled up has he shook and tweaked across the parking lot.  Way better tweaker than the guy that is always jumping between cars at the corner of Sutton and Brunswick.  How is the affordable housing problem?  Yet, we try to raise our children here, and we give the County $367,000,000 a year, and they don't fix shit?  How about the County and the state let us keep our tax money if you cannot fix anything?  Despite not fixing shit, the executives at the County will all be wealthy people when they retire.  Not comfortable or just able to make ends meet.  Wealthy.  Nobody should derive wealth off of the taxpayers.  It is frankly disgusting.  Our County's chief executive officer makes over $410,000 a year including salary and benefits.  How much do you make?  If you had as much "success" at your job, would you still have one?  

Until we start electing strong leaders who will get rid of these incompetent rubes, our friends will continue to abandon us.  Such is where we are.  We are here in this California because of our own choices.  We can make California great again, but we cannot keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result.  

On that note, all is not lost.  We live in a wonderful community that takes care of each other and loves each other.  If you ever need to be reminded of that, go to Hooper Stadium on Thanksgiving for Mike Bratton's Turkey Trot and feel the love.  Love that will bring tears to your eyes.  We have a wonderful community - a wonderful community that could do with a lot less ineffective government.