Why I Won’t Vote for You

When I recently received the 48-page California State Direct Primary Election “Official Voter Information Guide,” I was anxious to see what worthwhile information I could find on all candidates for office.

Some of their campaign pitches seem somewhat odd, but candidates for office in any election, from the local dogcatcher to the President of the United States, can be odd. In many instances, their appeals appear to be compatible with the voters’ desires, yet they end up at odds with the wishes of the electorate after the election is over.

When a candidate makes promises beforehand, voters may appreciate their honesty when they declare what they truly believe in. Some of these promises help me to decide whom I should not vote for.

Robert Newman, a candidate for Governor, is listed with No Party Preference, and calls his platform “the California Revolution.” He directly appeals to some by emphasizing, “I’m pro-God, pro-life, and pro-family.”

Republican Tim Donnelly begins his spiel by saying ”I’m a Patriot, not a Politician.” He declares, “I want my state back. I want my freedom back,” and concludes with “Take a stand for California!”

Another Republican, Andrew Bount unabashedly begins with, “I love California,” which should be a required thought for every candidate. Amongst his qualifications, Blunt notes, “Each year, my wife Michelle and I put on the Blount Family Christmas Lights Show and tour thousands through our home, sharing stories of families, dreams, lives, and struggles.”

Cindy L. Sheehan, a Peace and Freedom party candidate, is blunter than Blount, when she says, “I vow to tax the super-rich more to end poverty.”

There were no statements from the current Governor, listed on the ballot as Democrat Edmund G. ”Jerry” Brown. However, I admire one Republican Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor, Ron Nehring, who advocated, “scrapping the wasteful ‘high-speed rail’ boondoggle.” This $68 billion, unneeded project is Governor Brown’s personally fought-for political legacy; his comparable version of Obama’s desired legacy, the Affordable Care Act.

With the rail’s completion scheduled for 2029, and possibly rescheduled again, I would finally be able to traverse the entire rail system in time for my ninety-third birthday. I am sure by then that I will have better things to do to occupy my time.

Today, I mailed in my ballot and voted for another Democratic Party candidate for Governor, Akinyemi Agbede. He is a Fresno doctoral student, who ran for the Florida Senate in 2012 as a Republican. Actually, he didn’t quite run that year because he failed to file before the deadline. Although it was difficult to find any recent information on this California Governor candidate, his Florida file indicated that he was born May 5, 1964 in Lagos, Nigeria, came to America in 2001, and is a self-proclaimed “Super Genius.”

Both Nigeria and the world are in the throes of a deadly dilemma, trying to figure out how to safely resolve the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls by the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram. A video clip shows its leader Abubakar Shekau ranting his group's demands in an incomprehensible language.

There are hundreds of languages spoken in Nigeria, and since colonial days, English has been the official language. This infidel language alone might irritate Abubakar and his band. Other major languages spoken are Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Ibibio, Edo, Fulfulde, and Kanuri. Yet none of them will be found in any version of the California Voter Guide.

That guide was printed in English, and other guides are also produced in Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese. There are also “audio and large-print versions of the Official Voter Information Guide to ensure voters who are blind or visually impaired have access to statewide ballot information.”

I am pleased that all of these diverse populations will be afforded an equal opportunity to suffer through the reading and deciphering of the dubious qualifications and inflated promises of the candidates.