From Sam Schumacher

Monroe

To the Editor:

In just a couple of weeks, we will have the invaluable opportunity to engage in our most direct form of civic expression — casting a ballot. Yes, these are almost all local elections with relatively little publicity, but yet these are to determine which public officials and policies will have some of the widest reaching influence over our daily lives. Whether a mayor, a city councilperson, a county supervisor, a town or school board member, or a village trustee, the individuals elected to these offices will exclusively be making decisions for the places where we live. And if your school district has a funding referendum, the future of our children’s education lays in your hands.

And though all these elections and candidates are non-partisan, we must consider broader political ideology, particularly at a time when we face growing authoritarian governance at higher levels. Resistance really begins locally, and much of what our federal or state government tries to do must come down through local implementation. We cannot afford to have enablers of authoritarianism at the helms of our hometowns.

I know we are getting ready to vote against this current administration and federal government this fall, but we must first do well to secure our interests here in Monroe and Green County. Are you ready to vote on April 7?