Collegiate Times

As I open the daily paper or turn on the local news at 7 a.m. to accompany my breakfast, I find myself being informed about the upcoming national election almost every single day.

And while I'm just dying to know whether John McCain wears only white socks or whether Barack Obama prefers orange to apple juice, I think it may be more beneficial for local media to concern itself a little more with local and statewide elections here in Virginia this November.

It's not that I don't appreciate continual 'round-the-clock coverage of the presidential campaign -- after all it's quite useful for making my blood pressure rise or my eyes shut in boredom, depending on who's being discussed -- it's just that I think the media downplays local elections to the detriment of local and state constituents.

Not counting the presidential election, Virginia voters will be voting for a total of 12 national political seats, and up to 34 local political seats, depending on where you live within the state come this November. Just how many have you actually heard about on the local news channel or in the local newspaper? My guess is probably only one, the senatorial campaign between Mark Warner and Jim Gilmore. What happened to the other 33 seats up for grabs?

In all fairness to the media outlets, it must be remembered that news organizations are businesses and that, at the end of the day, ratings matter a great deal. The news seeks to increase its ratings by reporting on events that it perceives the general public having an acute interest in.

Basing my logic on the fact that most Virginia media sources are ignoring all but roughly two of the total number of elections this fall, I would tend to conclude that the public in general is primarily interested in the presidential campaign and secondly (a very distant second, mind you), the senatorial campaign here in Virginia.

I find it very paradoxical that most Virginians, and most citizens I would argue, are more concerned with the election of national leaders, such as the president and members of Congress, than the election of local city council leaders within their own towns and counties. I would argue that -- in general -- people are most directly affected on a daily basis not by the edicts of the president but by the decisions of their local town council.

If you want to erect a fence on your property, do you turn to the U.S. Code of Statutes or the U.S. Constitution or executive orders to find out whether it's permissible on your street? No! You check your local town ordinances, where legislation regarding the building of fences on private property in your area is posted. Who passed this legislation? Not Mark Warner, John Warner, nor any other Warner you can think of; the law was likely passed by your very own town council members -- the very same men and women you randomly voted for on election day without being very informed about their individual platforms.

I'm not saying that decisions by nationally elected officials don't affect us because they ultimately do, but I would argue that often by the time we feel the full repercussions of such decisions, the individuals who enacted them have actually finished their term in office and are off playing golf at some fancy country club.

City or town council decisions on the other hand tend to be felt almost immediately, and if such decisions are generally perceived as poor or worthless, it is far easier to bring to task the council official who is still firmly ensconced in his or her office than the national official who has long since vacated Washington, D.C.

My whole point here is this: While it's fun, more exacting, and often more glamorous to pay attention solely to big national elections, I think it is equally if not more important for constituents to closely watch the local elections which will also be decided upon in November.

The winners in such local elections will often have a far more direct effect on your day-to-day life and activities than the president of the United States.

So feel free to drool over presidential campaign news if you really want to, but make sure you also take a look around your own backyard to see what elections might be lurking.