Local Voters Miss an Opportunity to Check Mississippi Slide

{COMMENTARY}

Alas, Missy McGee won a lopsided victory over Kathryn Rehner in yesterday’s low-turnout runoff election to fill the vacant House District 102 legislative seat.  While I have nothing against Ms. McGee (we’ve never met, and her bio looks impressive), I consider the outcome distressing for at least two reasons.

First, because it was decided by so few registered voters.  How is it that less than 10% of the electorate thought it worth a half-hour of their time to decide who goes to Jackson to represent them and provide them access to the policy-making process?  Could it be that the quip I heard at the voting place where I poll watched yesterday is on target – “In race-saturated Mississippi, all bright white women look alike, so why bother to choose?”

The second cause of concern is more important: Ms. Rehner, a social worker possessed of the world-improving passion that all social workers should display, is appalled at the political direction Mississippi is taking, sacrificing investment in the future of the many in favor of tax cuts and sweet deals for the few, and would have fought vigorously to correct the sad slide of the state under its current super-majority Republican leadership.  That won’t happen now – at least not in HD 102, at least not for another couple of years.  Voters – we blew it.