The 2024 general election is over; some candidates won and others didn’t. Some of the several measures on the ballot passed and others didn’t. The political signs are almost all gone and so are the spam calls urging your support for another two years.
The months leading up to an election are interesting to watch; both proponents and opponents stretch the truth to the breaking point as they try and make their case to convince voters to support their candidate or cause. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution specifically allows these folks to say or repeat anything they feel will help them win; whether what they say is true or not isn’t part of the amendment.
The losers in the latest election will enter the blame game to try and justify their failure; some will seek recounts; others may seek relief from the legal system in the form of torts and courts.
The presidential election was full of twists and turns. The Democrats selected a candidate, and the party leadership threw him under the bus and then, without debate, anointed his vice president to put on the ballot. They claimed to be the party that would “protect democracy” and yet they didn’t practice it themselves.
Former President and now President-elect Donald Trump prevailed in a historic landslide, so we’ll see if he can accomplish his goal of “fixing America.” It will be a difficult task, and I am sure that Democrats will do everything in their power to derail his efforts.
To their credit, Democrats informed their supporters to “accept the result,” but liberal pedants didn’t get the message and continued their efforts to stir up trouble.
It looks like the Republicans will have a majority in the Senate, but it may take a while to find out which party will have the majority in the House of Representatives.
In the Lompoc mayor’s race, Supervisor Joan Hartmann’s local election interference effort seems to have unseated current Mayor Jenelle Osborne. Hartmann endorsed a candidate who had little chance of winning, but it had an impact on the outcome.
Certainly, as an experienced politician Hartmann knew what that impact would be. You’ll recall that Osborne challenged her during the 3rd District supervisor race; could this be the reason she supported someone who was unknown in Lompoc with no experience in government?
I hope Hartmann is happy that her petty politics worked, but the candidate she supported placed a distant third, and Jim Mosby, who lost several previous elections, was apparently elected.
Meanwhile in Santa Maria, Mayor Alice Patino and two council members may have overcome strong resistance from the firefighters union to hold onto their seats. The union wants a major pay/benefit increase and strongly supported three council opposition candidates, including one for the mayor’s seat. They spent a lot of time and money trying to unseat Mayor Patino and lost. Maybe they should stick to what they do best, saving lives and protecting property.
The election is over, now can we all just get along?
Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send a letter for publication to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 14-24, 2024.