As we all know, the incumbents in the Shawnee municipal election were returned to office.
Now, folks are going to offer a variety of reasons for this. So, I will offer my opinions.
The challengers all seemed to target the same issues. So, let's look at the three issues that appeared to be their primary focus:
A. The previous 17% property tax increase: While 17% is an extremely large number, when it is looked at in real dollars, is it really that significant? If I, as a high school drop out could see that the actual dollars were low, then apparently the more educated majority of Shawnee's citizens could also see that. The 17% amounted to approximately $8-$10 per month for the average homeowner in Shawnee. The average homeowner is paying approximately $60-$70 month for city services. Apparently, the majority of voters did not feel this was a major issue. Maybe, just maybe, they thought it was a fairly good deal.
B. Commercial development: Shawnee has been increasing the percentage of its tax base dedicated to commercial properties. Was this an issue? None of the challengers came up with any new ideas to increase or accelerate the trend that has been taking place. Even the KC Star made mention of that.
C. Smoking ban: Again, it would appear that a majority of Shawnee voters seemed to approve of the ban that went into effect. Some die hard opponents of smoking seemed to want to include those establishments that received exemptions under the new ordinance. Heck, virtually all "family friendly" establishments are currently covered. The "watering holes" are the ones that can apply for exemptions. Oh, and those that are concerned about the employees, it is just possible that most, if not all of the employees in the "watering holes" are smokers themselves. Was this an issue?
As in most elections, those that didn't prevail will sit around and try to determine what happened. Some will attempt to blame others. Some will attempt to analyze what they could have done differently. Did they zero in on the appropriate issues? Did they come up with new and innovative ideas? Did they come up with specific plans?
Why was the voter turn out low? Voter apathy? Voter satisfaction with the current situation? Low turn outs tend to favor incumbents. What was or wasn't done to excite the voters?
