Admittedly, odd-numbered-year elections don’t attract that many voters. Over the last 20 years, the average statewide turnout in odd-year elections (those elections without a candidate seeking a U.S. House or Senate seat on the ballot) is just a little over 9 percent of registered voters. Compare that to a presidential election which attracts more than 60 percent.
So perhaps it should come as no surprise when the official canvass of the Nov. 2 election revealed only 7.36 percent of Kyle’s registered voters took the time to vote, even though that was still 2 percent below the statewide turnout. But it was also markedly lower than was registered by our neighbors to the south (San Marcos’s turnout was 9.92 percent) and the north (Buda’s was a comparatively robust 13.65 percent).
But Kyle’s numbers become even more alarming when you examine them more closely.
In the citywide District 5 city council contest, incumbent Mayor Pro Temp finished first, receiving the support 32.6 percent of those who voted. Daniela C. Parsley finished second with 24.8 percent, Leah Kaufman was third with 20.6 percent, Donny J. Willis was fourth with 12 percent and (wait for it!), None of the Above finished fifth with 10 per cent.
That’s right! One out of every 10 voters said “A pox on all your houses. None of these four candidates has earned the right to receive a vote from me.” Were those voters saying (a) “I’m only interested in voting for the constitutional amendments and I don’t give a damn who wins the city council race” or (b) “Not one of these four candidates has done a damn thing to earn my vote”?
No exit polls were conducted at any of the 10 voting precincts that participated in the Kyle City Council election, but it really doesn’t matter. Either answer, when added to the dismal turnout among Kyle voters compared to our neighbors to the north and south, demonstrates just how irrelevant or incompetent (perhaps both) voters view the council.
The story doesn’t get any better (it could even be successfully argued it gets worse) when you look at the District 6 race in which incumbent Michael Tobias received 75.5 percent of those who cast ballots in the district. That may look like an overwhelming mandate except for one fact: He was unopposed! That means one in every four District 6 voters said basically the same thing, either “I don’t care about the city council race” or “I’m not that fond of Tobias.” Of course, many of those candidates could have skipped the race thinking “He’s the only candidate in the race, why should I waste my time voting for him since he’s obviously going to win anyway.” But, if that was the motivation, those voters were still considering taking a mere millisecond to vote for someone for the Kyle City Council “a waste of my time.”
And there’s one more piece of evidence that illustrates the “I-could-care-less” attitude of District 6 voters: Only 5.25 percent of the district’s registered voters even bothered to take the time to cast a ballot. That’s more than 2 percentage points lower than the city’s pathetic overall showing.
The message is clear: Residents care about what the city staff does. They want navigable streets, safe neighborhoods, decent and convenient shopping/restaurant options, park/recreational facilities and a safe/economical/reliable water supply (not necessarily in that order of importance). But they don’t care one iota about what the city council does or, for that matter, who even sits in the council. I’ve heard that message and The Kyle Report’s coverage of city government will follow those dictates.
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