Citrus County, it's in your hands

And it's...SHOWTIME!

Months of preparation and hard work lead to this day for candidates who are hoping their messages resonate with voters.

I actually have some experience with this. In fifth grade I was nominated for class treasurer but lost to my friend Sandy, who was smarter and more popular than me. I was demoralized. My political career began and ended at age 11.

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Lots to cover in this Primary Election Day blog, so let’s jump into it.

— Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Check the Supervisor of Elections website if you’re not sure where to vote.

— Supervisor Maureen “Mo” Baird is expecting a total turnout of about 35%, which would be really, really yucky. I mean, c’mon. We’re electing a sheriff. Electing a superintendent of schools. Electing two county commissioners. Electing four judges. Possibly electing a School Board member.

What drives me batty: Not only will most voters skip the primary, they will be SHOCKED to find out all these positions were elected in August. Count on it. Come October when some voters realize the General Election ballot is void of all but one or two local races, they’re going to raise Cain.

Folks need to take responsibility. Someone complained to me the other day about a candidate’s mail piece, that it didn’t contain much info. That’s why I linked candidate websites and/or Facebook pages throughout the season so that readers could research candidates on their own.

The message…vote!

— Let’s have a round of applause for our local candidates. Not a bad apple in the bunch. That’s actually rare, you know. There’s usually at least one loopy candidate, but not this year. Every single candidate has earned his/her vote.

— I’m breaking a tradition that’s all but dead anyway. I’m referring to hanging at the elections office waiting for returns, which I’ve done every even-numbered year since 1988. Well, with computers taking over, it seems silly to wait at the elections office for a printout when the returns will be available online at the same time.

So, Election Central is the New Just Wright Citrus World Headquarters on the shores of Big Lake Henderson.

(I must say…this makes me nervous. I do not like to rely on the internet for anything of significance. Yes, I realize that makes no sense for a blogger. Hey. It’s Election Day. Logic has left the room.)

— Election Day reporting work is always, well, rather intense. Here’s how it goes:

Nothing happens until 7 p.m., then everything happens in a matter of minutes. With early votes likely accounting for more than half the turnout, only the closest races will still be in contention after that first batch is released.

That’s followed by a mad scramble of trying to locate winners for comments, piecing together the final vote numbers, and finding a winning candidate for my photo. 

Oh, and my assignment for Florida Politics is to write five Citrus County election stories. On deadline.

My plan is simple. Get the early results on Facebook asap with updates as needed. Then set that aside while I write the FlaPol stories. Then go find a winning candidate for my photo (I’ll have a boring backup in case that plan tanks). That should get me started around midnight on Wednesday’s blog. We’ll have it all wrapped up by 2 a.m. or so. 

And then I’ll keep the neighborhood entertained until 5 a.m. with my harmonica because sleep is IMPOSSIBLE on Election night.

— I sure hope we have humble winners and gracious losers. Nothing is more uncomfortable than a candidate who blames the world for his/her election loss.

Every time I interview a bitter candidate who pins the loss on everyone else, I ask: “Isn’t it possible voters just didn’t want to elect you?” Quite often the response is no.

Look, candidates, love ya, but here’s a Primary Election Day truth: You’re not all going to win. What you can do is wake up Wednesday morning and, regardless of the final score, know you did your best.

— We had a lot of fun breaking down these races the last few months. I sincerely appreciate your interest and conversation. But…being serious here with Just Wright Citrus readers…please vote. Regular readers of this blog are locked into the politics of Citrus County. Don’t waste that knowledge, man. Help us out here.

That’s it for now. See you on the flip side.

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