Voting a privilege and responsibility

Wasilla will make history today, as residents vote in the city’s first recall election.

Just how many of us bother to show up to vote on this important question — should councilman Steve Menard retain his seat on Wasilla City Council — remains to be seen. If history is any indication, however, it won’t be many.

In and of themselves, special elections are a rare occurrence for Wasilla. The last one came a decade ago in 2002, when voters approved a .5 percent sales tax increase to build the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center. Even then, a question that affected our pocketbooks for nearly a decade drew a dismal 14 percent of registered voters. Even in this past October’s regular municipal election, which included a contentious mayoral race, only 23 percent of voters bothered to cast a ballot.

We can, and should, do much better.

If you’re a voter, it only takes a few minutes on your way to or from work to cast your ballot, and it couldn’t be easier. There’s only one question and two options to answer, “yes” or “no.”

If you’re a local employer, make sure your employees know you support the local election process, and encourage them to take a few minutes to vote. Polling precincts are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today, at Wasilla City Hall and the Wasilla Senior Center.

In addition to being fast and easy, voting in today’s special election is the responsible thing to do. It’s the one place your opinion, your voice, matters most.

Those seeking to oust Mr. Menard claim his behavior last summer while attending an Alaska Municipal League event in Sitka in his capacity as a city councilman constitute misconduct in office. For his part, Menard has admitted to having an alcohol problem, and says he is now six months sober and is a changed man.

We cast no judgment one way or another. That’s for you — the voter — to decide. But we do side strongly with participatory democracy. So whether you like, dislike or are indifferent to Mr. Menard and his politics, please vote. It would be a shame for a decision as important as this to be made by a relative handful of residents.