I’m sure that I am not the only Mesquite voter that is unhappy with the City Council election process. I have no axe to grind in this but the fact that I voted on the premise that it would count and that it would mean something to the candidates and show my support for the city and the people that represent me.
In past elections the city charter had a rule that a person getting 50% or more of the votes would be seated on the council. That rule has been changed/amended “AFTER” the last voting results. The reason given stinks of the old “crony” system that we had hoped was long gone from Mesquite. No wonder crony is listed next to “crook” in the Funk and Wagnalls.
The change now stands as 50% of the “Voters” that cast ballots. At this point I have high hopes that all the people that “lost” their vote this time will come out and show how they feel when the election is held in November.
It isn’t strange any longer to hear the phrase (Never/ever) vote for an incumbent unless you are personally positive that representative has fulfilled the duties elected for.
Jim Buttler
Mesquite, NV
Everyone’s vote in the primary counted. The field was narrowed to 2 candidates for each open seat. The primary process is/should be intended to select the candidates to be on the ballot for the general election, NOT to actually select a “winner” of the general election 5 months before the general election is held. Selecting an elected official with the much smaller voting populace that turns out for primary elections and in the dead of the summer is simply wrong. That is why we changed our municipal elections to coincide with normal election cycles.
The voters still have the ultimate say in the general election.
The board absolutely did the right and fair thing. They had previously made a mistake in the wording of the law and now have fixed it. It’s just that simple. Two wrongs still don’t make a right. The general election will still give us a chance to vote for our favorites, for the most part.