Our View: Too few willing to do the work of democracy

You can’t really call it an election if there is no one to vote for.

No matter how many votes are cast in November, 40 elective offices will remain unfilled in Stanislaus County. Either no one cared enough to run or ... well, we don’t have any other explanation.

Most of the soon-to-be-vacant offices are not glamorous. If they pay at all, they don’t pay well. And gratitude for serving in any public office is virtually nonexistent. But someone has to do these jobs, and if no one applies it’s up to other board members or the county Board of Supervisors to fill them.

“We won’t be able to fill them all,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Terry Withrow. “It’s a problem, the apathy that’s out there.”

Unfortunately, it appears to be getting worse. Not only were there no candidates for 40 offices, but 65 of the 136 available offices will not require a vote because there’s no competition.

In 2011, only 25 offices drew no candidates; it was 24 in 2013. The majority of those were in community service districts and municipal advisory councils, which have always had trouble filling seats. This year, the Valley Home MAC has three open seats, but only two candidates – meaning Christopher Hempleman and Winnie Mullins were automatically re-elected. In Knights Ferry, whose MAC also has three open seats, no one is running; it’s the same for the five seats in Hickman and in Empire and three of the four in Denair and all three in Grayson.

“This has been a low year for people applying for office,” said county Registrar of Voters Lee Lundrigan. It could have been worse; several people filed papers on the very last day.

This year, it even affected school districts. In 2011, only one district among 26 didn’t have enough candidates. In 2013, all 20 districts filled all their seats – many requiring elections. But this year, six of 22 districts will not fill their boards through elections – Keyes, Paradise, Riverbank, Roberts Ferry, Stanislaus Union and Valley Home.

Interestingly, three of those now elect by “area.” In the past, most school board elections were at-large – meaning the only residency requirement was that you must live somewhere, anywhere, in the district. That began to change after a 2001 law required most cities to abandon at-large elections and elect councils by district in an effort to elect more minorities. Modesto resisted, taking its objections to the California Supreme Court. When Modesto lost, instituting district elections in 2009, most cities and quite a few school districts switched to district elections.

But not all areas attract candidates. No one is running for Keyes Union areas 4 and 5. Riverbank Unified has no candidates for area 1, and Stanislaus Union has no candidates for area 3.

Perhaps candidates, like voters, are suffering from election fatigue. So it might be a good thing voters will have to pay attention in only 31 of the county’s 136 “races.” Some of those are important. Modesto’s City Council and school board both could be reshaped. Oakdale Irrigation District’s three seats are all being contested. There are interesting races in Turlock and Patterson.

But the majority drew just enough candidates, or not enough, to fill the seats.

“If you think about it, where is it going to stop?” asked Withrow. “We’re going to end up with appointed people in so many positions. Is it all going to be appointed?”

If no one votes, or there’s no one to vote for, that’s no longer a democracy.

This story was originally published August 15, 2015 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Our View: Too few willing to do the work of democracy."