Opinion : Be careful who you vote for

The cat is out of the bag. If you want to win in Benton County, you have to run as a Republican. There's nothing like hearing a political candidate tell a crowd that when asked what party they would be registering as.

It's out there. Gone are the days when a label meant you stood for certain things. Now we are playing a shell game, but then, it IS politics.

It used to be that I was probably naive and trusted that I knew what people thought on topics and that a certain code of conduct went with the people I voted for. Lately, unfortunately, I feel like I've been let down.

I'm starting to believe that labels don't matter anymore.

When I vote for someone, and especially at the local level, I'm not really that hard to please. I want someone who will be honest, someone who is moral, and someone who follows the law. How hard is it?

I didn't used to think that the (R) or the (D) after your name mattered in the local offices, and then, well, COVID. Now, I think it matters. I won't get into the whole debate, but I'll just say that it sure brought to light a lot of interesting things. So instead I got butt-smacking and threats, law-breaking and other fun stuff, from our local officials, so I'm just not sure where I stand.

The list of candidates for our County Supervisor and County Sheriff is being assembled. People are beginning to get their names submitted to run. But I don't think like I used to. Just because there is an (R) or a (D) after their name doesn't mean that they might agree with that party. After the last three years, well, politics matter.

It matters from the school level to the city level, the county level, and the state and federal level. The problem is finding people to fill these positions with integrity.

Now when I hear some of the candidates telling voters that they "have to register as a Republican" to get elected, well, vet them to find out where they stand. And no, I'm not even sure where this candidate stands. So I guess it was a wake-up call to me that, we can't even trust that the candidates are who they say anymore.

When it comes to candidates, some are already out the door for me because of their past behaviors. After all, Oprah constantly says, "When they tell you who they are, believe them," I'm slow but I'm starting to do that. And it doesn't matter what your label says, that will be a hard "no" from me.

So anyway, voters, beware, that not all candidates are who you think they are. It's up to YOU to figure out where they REALLY stand on issues. Ask around about their past behavior if you don't know them. Are they an upright person? Are they in it just for them?

It's okay to ask. it's YOU who is in charge of the hiring process. Perhaps we have been too lenient in the past. Ask the hard questions.

But whatever you do, don't get so attached to a candidate before you know what they really think on every possible topic that they will be making the calls on. Voting against someone to just get rid of someone else, isn't a good strategy.

If you like masks, make sure your candidate does too. Yes, that topic affected the county. If you want a sanctuary county, that topic matters here as well. If you want integrity in these offices, talk to their co-workers now and see what they think. Do you want a rule follower? Find out if they follow the rules now, or are they bending them when they can.

It's okay to be nosey and snoop a bit. It's due diligence. Anyone running for office should be an open book. If they aren't, well, take your vote and go somewhere else.

Voting matters. But we should all know that by now.