No Such Thing As A Minor Election

Posted: May 15, 1995

Just because both candidates for mayor are running unopposed in their party primaries, that doesn't mean tomorrow's election isn't important.

Besides mayor, Philadelphians will be nominating their party's candidates for City Council, sheriff, city commissioners, register of wills, clerk of courts and Common Pleas, Municipal and Traffic Courts.

All Pennsylvanians will be nominating candidates for Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth courts.

Some of these jobs are arguably as vital as mayor - if lower-profile and perhaps less glamorous.

No Philadelphian should have to be told how important City Council is. Whoever the mayor is needs Council if anything is to be accomplished. History should have taught us how devastating an inept or overly fractious Council can be.

Democrats especially should realize that in a city with such a huge Democratic plurality, the primary vote often determines who will win in the November election.

Nobody is happy about how judges are chosen in Pennsylvania, but until a better system is in place (if ever), it's up to us to decide who will be passing judgment on us and our neighbors - a position of awesome power. It's your call when you go to the polls, and tomorrow, unless you use it judiciously (double-meaning not coincidental), November may be too late.

The row offices may be of lesser significance, but the people you choose do wield power and control jobs. They deserve attention.

All in all, there's no such thing as a minor election. For all citizens, voting is an obligation as well as a right. Use it wisely.

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