Today was the day San Diegans like me voted for a replacement mayor after the disgusting and rubber-faced Bob Filner was forced to resign late last year amidst multiple allegations of sexual harassment and for having a creepier smile than the Joker.
Voters had a choice between David Alvarez, the Democratic candidate for the people, and Kevin Faulconer, the Republican candidate for big business.
The polling place was close enough to my house where I just walked over (with my mom who wanted to go along for the exercise), just as a strong breeze and incredibly thick fog bank rolled in and dropped the outside temperature by about ten degrees. Really hoping that wasn’t an omen for my choice because it cleared right up and the sun came out again just as I got home. Honesty, if I could have voted for both I probably would have because I think they both can help San Diego in their own ways.
When I arrived there was one guy who walked up ahead of me. What happened next just stunned me. I haven’t been voting for very long because I personally don’t like politics. But at least I take some time to try and understand the issues or candidates. I don’t want to vote stupidly. This guy took his ballot behind his cardboard booth, peeked his head out and asked the pollsters which one was the Democrat and which one was the Republican. So, he was just voting along party lines with no idea who was even running? Even to me, someone who genuinely dislikes politics, that was a wasted vote. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the pollster he asked that question from just shook her head and, believe it or not, quietly said, “I don’t know.” I had to tell him who the candidates were. Me. The guy who up until about a year ago never voted because he’s so anti-politics.
As I write this the polls are now closed and the election results are slowly starting to come in. So far it seems that the fog may have been right.
