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ABOUT THIS PAGE On the principle that the fair and unimpeded exchange of ideas is the permanent foundation and continuing guarantee of a free people, The Shawnee News-Star opinion page will offer varied opinions and analyses on a broad range of topics that affect your life. The viewpoints expressed in columns, guest commentaries, letters to the editor and editorial cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Editorials are the opinion of the News-Star. Your viewpoints are always welcome. If you have any questions about this page, including its content, please call or write us. Your opinion matters most of all.
EDITORIAL
THE SCOOP
LAWMAKERS
A high number of primary-only elections doesn’t necessarily mean system has flaws
Driever will discuss fall, spring garden activities at Sustainable Shawnee meet
Governor
State Rep. Joe Dorman, DRush Springs, wants to allow all registered voters to participate in primaries when there’s no general election for a specific race. He argues that Oklahoma elected officials should be chosen by “a majority of registered voters,” not just those registered with a specific party. He said at least 15 state-level candidates were elected in a primary this year. Partisan concerns may drive this supposedly nonpartisan idea: Two state Senate seats in redrawn districts flipped from Democratic control to Republican control during primaries because only Republicans contested those elections. Still, it’s true that low-turnout primaries give outsized power to those who participate, especially when those races are the endpoint of the election process. But this is also true of general elections. Only a share of Oklahoma citizens truly chooses state and legislative officeholders. Just 45.2 percent of Oklahoma registered voters participated in the 2006 general election. In 2010, turnout was 50.1 percent for the general election. The lower-turnout 2006 races saw Democrats elected to most statewide offices. The higher-turnout races in 2010 placed Republicans in control. In both cases, a huge percentage of registered voters didn’t actually select officeholders — because they didn’t participate. This doesn’t make the system flawed. Citizens have the right to vote, or not, just as major-party candidates have the choice to run, or not. Dorman’s idea has been kicked around in other forms for years. In 2005 and 2007, then-state Rep. Rob Johnson, R-Kingfisher, filed legislation to make county races nonpartisan. One argument for making that change was the number of one-party county races. Democrats didn’t exactly embrace Johnson’s idea. At that time, they dominated county government outside of Oklahoma’s metro areas, and those offices were often the unofficial farm team for Democratic legislative candidates. The bills went nowhere. If lawmakers decide to take up this idea, the legislation should make all one-party races at all levels open primaries. Implementing the concept on an inconsistent and ad hoc basis would only create confusion. However, there are several flaws to the open-primary argument. For one thing, allowing Democrats to vote in Republican primaries and vice-versa doesn’t increase diversity so much as invite members of the other political party to sabotage an election. In a heavily Democratic or Republican district, those registered with the out-party might be tempted to support fringe candidates to discredit the opposition. Dorman admits there are also logistical challenges. Holding open primary races at the same time as other primaries would create additional costs for drafting ballots. If the races were moved to the general election, it would make straight-party voting nearly impossible. Most importantly, the occasional lack of declared candidates from one major party isn’t due to a flaw in the electoral process, but to the failure of a political party to recruit candidates. No one is stopping Democrats or Republicans from filing for office. A candidate’s partisan affiliation typically indicates his or her political views; voters register as Republicans or Democrats for the same reason. This helps foster a clear competition of ideas in the political marketplace. These distinctions are beneficial to voters. They should be preserved as much as possible. From The Oklahoman, Sept. 7, 2012.
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Wednesday, September 12, 2012
THE SHAWNEE NEWS-STAR Brian Blansett Mike McCormick Reita Easley Jeri McEntire
MAGENTA
During Thursday night’s meeting of Sustainable Shawnee, George Driever, OSU Extension horticulturalist, will be the featured speaker. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Emmanuel Episcopal Church. Driever will speak on fall and spring activities in your gardens that will help compensate for the drought. The public is invited to attend. ••• Shawnee’s Economic Development Foundation is not holding its monthly meeting for September. Because the board held special meetings during July and August in addition to its regular monthly meetings, Chairman Jerry Bayliss reportedly decided he wanted to cancel this month’s meeting which would have been today beginning at 9 a.m. The next SEDF meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 10. ••• Gene Rainbolt will be the speaker when the Pottawatomie County Historical Society honors six people at the Heritage Achievement Banquet on Friday, Sept. 21. The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Citizen Potawatomi Heritage Center, 1899 S. Gordon Cooper Drive. Heritage Achievement Awards will be presented to Dollie Smith and her late husband, Troy Smith, founders of Sonic; Wanda Jackson, internationally known singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist originally from Maud; Paul Milburn, Shawnee land developer and philanthropist; and the Florence Drake Award will be presented to Betty and Adam Falato for their work in publishing important history. Tickets are $25 and may be reserved by calling the Santa Fe Depot Museum, 275-8412, between 9 and 4 Tuesday through Friday and 2 to 4 on Saturday and Sunday. Reservation deadline is Sept. 18. ••• It’s official. Shawnee’s Trick or Treat night will be on Halloween, Wednesday, Oct. 31. There was some discussion,
MIKE MCCORMICK EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
though, before the city commission made a decision. Mark it down, Oct. 31 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. is the official trick or treat night in our city. ••• Friends of Shawnee Public Library book sale will be the first week of October beginning Oct. 3. Friends appreciate book donations but ask that you wait to bring them to the library until either Oct. 1 or 2. Currently the storage areas are full and running over. This means there will be lots of books available at this year’s sale. ••• The 2012 Oklahoma Wildlife Expo is Sept. 29 and 30 at the Lazy E Arena just north of Oklahoma City. The expo is the public’s chance to try their hands at a range of outdoor recreation activities ranging from fishing at a stocked pond or shooting a shotgun to building a birdhouse or taking a ride in a kayak. “The expo is completely free, and visitors can try all kinds of outdoor activities and check out all kinds of booths designed to teach them about wildlife, the outdoors and conservation,” said Rhonda Hurst, wildlife expo coordinator for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. The wildlife department is partnering with a wide range of other state agencies, private individuals and outdoor-related companies and organizations to host the wildlife expo. The event is designed to promote and instill appreciation for Oklahoma’s wildlife and natural resources and provide hands-on learning opportunities for all types of outdoor enthusiasts. The event is free and open to the public. Activities range from free shotgun and archery shooting to fishing, kayaking, ATV riding, mountain biking and much
more. Additionally, numerous learning opportunities are available at booths and exhibits at the expo. Visitors can speak with wildlife biologists and outdoorsmen experienced in fishing, hunting, game calling, wildlife and fisheries management, reptiles and amphibians and more, as well as attend seminars on hunting dog training, common snake identification and Dutch oven cooking. The expo is Oklahoma’s largest outdoor recreation event, drawing thousands of people each year. The expo will be held at the Lazy E Arena, just north of Oklahoma City. Expo hours will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 29 and 30. Admission and parking are free. ••• The Shawnee Police Foundation has scheduled its annual golf tournament for Tuesday, Sept. 25, at the Shawnee Elks Lodge Course. That is only two weeks away. It’s a four man scramble and check-in will be from 8 to 9 a.m. There will be a shotgun start and lunch will be provided after the round. Registration for individuals is $60 and $220 for a team. Registration forms can be picked up at the Shawnee Police Department, or at the Greater Shawnee Chamber of Commerce. All proceeds of this activity and all other Shawnee police Foundation fund raisers go to purchasing needed equipment for the city’s officers that isn’t normally in the regular budget. The police foundation consists of citizens from the community, not officers. Questions about the golf tournament may be asked by calling the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce at 405-273-6092, or by calling the Shawnee Police Department at 878-1638. ••• If you have ideas or something of interest for this column, please call me at 2143922 or email me at michael. mccormick@news-star.com. Please include your name and a phone number for contact purposes.
Gov. Mary Fallin 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd Room 212 Oklahoma City OK 73105 www.governor.ok.gov.
State Senators Sen. Charlie Laster 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. – Room 522 Oklahoma City OK 73105 Senate office: 521-5539 District phone: 273-2910 laster@oksenate.gov Sen. Harry Coates 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. Room 514 A Oklahoma City OK 73105 Office: 521-5547 Home: 2300 John St. Seminole OK 74868
Representatives Rep. Josh Cockroft 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. – Room 315 Oklahoma City OK 73105 Office: 557-7349 Josh.Cockroft@okhouse. gov Rep. Kris Steele 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. – Room 411 Oklahoma City OK 73105 Phone: 557-7345 District Phone: 878-0514 krissteele@okhouse.gov Rep. Tom Newell 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. — Room 328B Oklahoma City OK 73105 Phone: 557-7372 tom.newell@okhouse.gov
U.S. Senators, Representative Sen. James Inhofe SR-453 Russell Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-4721 Web: http://Inhofe.senate. gov Sen. Tom Coburn SR-172 Russell Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-5754 Fax: (202) 224-6008 Web: http://Coburn.senate. gov Rep. James Lankford 509 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (405) 234-9900 Local (405) 273-1733 Web: http://lankford.house. gov
City of Shawnee Mayor Wes Mainord C/O City of Shawnee P.O. Box 1448 Shawnee, OK 74802-1448 e-mail: Wes.Mainord@ shawneeok.org
Check out these stories, picture galleries, videos or blogs, available only on The Shawnee NewsStar website at www. news-star.com:
Video • Maud football Maud player Talon Fletcher discusses his football career and the 2012 season. Maud is currently 2-0.
Photos • Firefighter Games See a gallery of area firefighters competing in the Firefighter Games Saturday at the Pottawatomie County Free fair. Look for these and other information at www. news-star.com.
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