Letter to the Editor of the Rolla Daily News on the April 5, 2011 municipal election
  (not printed by the Rolla Daily News)

April 12, 2011

There is much to be thankful for in April 5 election

Dear Editor:

Carol Bennett has expressed her disappointment at the abysmally low 19% turnout in last Tuesday's election.

While I also find the turnout disappointing, I find much to be thankful for:

I am thankful that when the new Rolla City Council is seated next Monday, we will no longer have an all-male mayor and council. (See my stupid naked white men cartoon.)

I am also thankful that we have Carol Bennett for our election authority. We could have an election authority like Waukesha, Wisconsin's Kathy Nickolaus, the Republican apparatchik who just happened to find 7,500 uncounted votes on her personal computer.

And I am thankful that those who voted saw through the hype and the spin and rejected the so-called recreation tax by a 2 to 1 margin.

On the negative side, since the voters elected a predominately pro-tax council, we can expect to see the so-called recreation tax back on the ballot soon, although perhaps in a slightly less onerous form.

Tom Sager
Rolla