Is it over yet? Can I open my eyes? Oh wait, it hasn’t even started yet, has it? You know what I’m talking about because you’re thinking the same thing. Election season. It seems like it’s been going on forever. And yet, as good citizens we have to remain awake and attentive through it all—and as a good journalist, I have to remain vigilant. Red Bulls and coffee for everyone, because this is going to be a long season.
Apathy and an overall failure to pay attention have created the circus that is this year’s presidential election.
Have you ever watched those experiments in which a child is set in front of a piece of candy, told not to eat it, and then left in the room with a hidden camera? When the child thinks no one is looking, they almost always eat the candy. That’s kind of how the government works. At least the child can’t help it; it’s impulse, and self-discipline is a learned thing.
We blinked people. Somewhere along the way we averted our eyes. So now we have candidates that people favor simply because they believe their chosen candidate has enough sense not to take a nibble when we get distracted by Kim Kardashian nudie pics or debate over whether People magazine declared the right actor Sexiest Man Alive.
In reality, people aren’t really excited about the candidates (with the exception of a rabid faction) as much as they feel stuck with them. Actually, admit it, no one really likes any of the current candidates; so much as they are choosing the lesser of the evils.
That should remind us about letting our guard down. As we grab our peanuts to watch the political parade, we have some pretty big races shaping up right here in our own backyard. Specifically, the 24th Congressional District is up for grabs now that Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) is retiring. It’s the first time in 18 years that an incumbent hasn’t made a bid for the seat. That means anything can happen.
We have nine congressional hopefuls with varied backgrounds and diverse views. Most of those views involve addressing jobs, health insurance, student debt, small business challenges, and nonpartisan collaboration.
There are candidates with some experience in the political arena like 1st District Supervisor Salud Carbajal, Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider, and 35th District Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian.
Three candidates have experience running in previous races but failed to win the seat, like Justin Fareed, Matt Kokkonen, and John Uebersax.
And then there are newcomers Steve Isakson, Bill Ostrander, and Benjamin Lucas.
It’s like a fresh new start with a lot of options. Will you choose experience and political savvy? Determination and steadfast ideals? New ideas and a lack of old school political strings?
Speaking of strings, does anyone have any they can pull to get me on the beach of my choosing? While candidates are making a bid for the White House, endangered western snowy plovers are building their beach houses. That means everyone has got to stay off the beach. First of all, I don’t know why anyone would nest on the shore. I mean what’s wrong with a perch, or a tree, or an eave under a protected overhang somewhere? But also, what makes them so special? Even Central Coast homeowners with private beach access can’t legally keep the public off the beach.
OK, I guess it wouldn’t be so cool to have your species’ numbers dwindle, to have your kind close to extinction. All right I’ll give them that. I’ll stay off the beaches—and you will, too—but a note to the plover: Next year can you please find a smarter place to build a nest?
The Canary knows better than to build her house on the sand. Send comments to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 17-24, 2016.