When I looked at the numbers for Chemung County's 4th legislative district, the number that jumped out at me was the unaffiliated voters. Since the 2018 campaign, the number of Democrats had gone up by 94 voters and Republicans had gone up by 15 voters.
The unaffiliated, those not registered to any party, had jumped by more than 200. The blanks, as they are called, now represent 24 percent of the district. By percentage, they are still behind the Democrats (27 percent) and the Republicans (41 percent), but they are the fastest growing group of voters in the district.
This is why I am pursuing an independent line on the ballot called the "Middle Party."
My guess is that this demographic shift reflects a general disillusionment. People are tired of the toxic nature of politics. Or they just don't want to give their loyalty to one party or the other. They hold back on committing until they see how things play out. Sometimes they sit out the elections all together because they don't see a message or a candidate they can get behind.
I totally get it. Politicians often forget the middle. Nowadays, the strategies seem to focus on the extremes.
This is a problem I first blogged about back in 2010. This was before social media became as powerful as it is today, but I was worried about how conversations about politics and government had been moving from public forums to private email messages for loyal followers. This was the beginning of the abandonment of the middle.
What I wrote then:
"Elections are won by persuading the voters in the middle, the undecideds. Getting out the party faithful is part of winning an election, and it demonstrates a political strength. However, the true test in politics is in making a thoughtful and resounding argument to the nation as a whole ... What do we need? We need a middle again."
And now here we are in a world dominated not only by social media but even more isolating platforms that create even more twisted versions of realities. Even with seemingly benign platforms like Facebook, people live within echo chambers that only reinforce your own beliefs and any opportunity to discuss or explore other points of view get quickly lost in flamewars and trolling.
So many people withdraw from politics because of this toxic environment, but the result of sitting out elections is bad government. And I can't let that go on.
So, I am asking you to join me in the middle.
I am proud to be on the ballot for county legislature as a Democrat. When I was a journalist, I had been careful to not publicly declare for either party. After my career in journalism ended, I was free to go public with my preference. Looking at both parties in the best possible light, the strongest selling point of the Republican party had traditionally been fiscal responsibility. The strongest selling point for the Democratic party had been as advocates for the common person.
So, as a candidate, my approach is to be an advocate for the common person and to also be fiscally responsible. I am sure a Republican could have the same approach, but I will leave it to the voters to decide who makes the more believable case.
We all have our political biases, our slants. We may start from one party or the other, but as I said, the real test is -- or should be -- how your message plays to the middle. And the message I have for Democrats on the left is the same I have for Republicans on the right and to those of you in the middle.
Of all the jobs on my resume, the one that is most relevant is my work as a newspaper reporter. I spent years writing about local government, watching the successes and failures, explaining to the public how the government is affecting your lives, interviewing government employees and elected leaders about what they are doing and why. I attended countless budget meetings and came away with a deep respect for legislators who made spending decisions, always keeping in mind that what they did would ultimately impact the amount of taxes that need to be raised and whether the tax rate for property owners would go up or down.
Chemung County government is not usually about the big national issues that most people pay attention to. It is about things like the roads, bridges, sheriff's department, jail, sewer district, health department and the nursing facility. It is about finding ways to provide the services we all need using the resources that are available, which are predominantly those tax dollars we all provide. I could not promise anyone that I will cut taxes, but I will do my level best to make sure our tax dollars are put to good use and are not wasted.
I may not have the solutions to all the problems facing the county, but I can tell you my approach to any problem. I learned this as a newspaper reporter: First, get the facts right. Next, listen to all sides before making any conclusions. Listen and respond to the residents about their concerns. Only if we can do these things can we hope to find solutions.
If you like what I have to say, I ask you to join me in the middle.
