To The Reader’s Forum:

In our country, where informed citizens were intended to share the decision-making via free and fair elections, an increasing number of people have decided to skip it and live with what other people choose for them.

Not that they’re happy, oh no. Finger pointing and cursing politicians is a high art form.

But let’s remember that people voted and chose those elected officials and their policies. If you weren’t involved, you allowed them to choose for you.

Only about half of the people who are eligible to vote actually do. (Many eligible people are not even registered.) That’s when federal offices like the Presidency and Congress are on the ballot. In local elections, the percentage is ridiculously lower.

And yet, local elections can have an even bigger impact on your day-to-day lives than the “big” ones that get all the attention in the media.

Local governments (city, county, and school boards) make direct changes on the issues that matter most in our community: how money is spent on schools, public safety, emergency services, business development, transportation and maintenance, recreation, and public projects.

They make the decisions about if your street gets plowed when it snows, if that pothole that nearly swallowed your car gets fixed, whether your nextdoor neighbor can have farm animals, open a gun shop, strip club, or junk yard, or have all night street parties.

Local officials are people who live in your community and have to deal with the same issues you are experiencing. You may run into them in the grocery store or at a public event, or call them and talk to them about the solutions you’d like to see. You should know the people who are there to serve you and feel that you can approach them and work with them to make our community a better place.

So, use your power to help shape the future. Vote Nov. 4, or vote early Oct 26- Nov. 2, at the Robert H. Jackson Center or Chautauqua Mall, for the people you feel will work for you and with you. Change starts with effort here at home, not with a magic wand in Albany or D.C. With low turnout, your vote has more impact and could be the one that makes a difference. Your vote matters.

Susan Meara

Jamestown