Commentary by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Five Cueball thoughts for Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014…

1. Low voter turnout…

It was a rather strange election. When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a ruling that put limitations on campaign finance it allowed politicians the ability to spend as much money as they so pleased. That’s why you saw a campaign commercial nearly every moment touting the joys of one candidate over the evils of the other, who loves Obamacare.

A picture of the Raymond Frye Complex last Tuesday.

Yet for all the bombastic rhetoric, voters basically shrugged their shoulders. Only 19 percent in Sumner County registered voters made it to the polls. It wasn’t much difference elsewhere.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure myself whether I would go to the polls, and only cast a vote, because I was at the election booth doing a story on election turnout. Living on the west side of Wellington, I had no state representative race, no state senator’s race, no county commissioner’s race, and no ballot initiative to vote for or against.

Pat Roberts’ buddy

The big race between Mike Pompeo and Todd Tiahrt for U.S. House District #4 turned out to be a dud after Tiahrt was caught making too many lies on Pompeo. And I just couldn’t get into the U.S. Senate Republican battle between Pat Roberts, who greeted Columbus on his venture to America, and his challenger Dr. Milt Wolff, who seemed a bit off kilter. But his bus looked nice in the Wellington downtown parking lot taking up three or four spaces.

So really, there is no reason to stomp my foot, and wring my hands about the low voter turnout of the state primary. You have to give people reason to go to the election booth.

Dr. Milton Wolf was in Wellington the Friday before the election. Who is that riding the bike?

2. November election…

The November election should be different with a Governor’s battle between Sam Brownback and Democrat challenger Paul Davis which is shaping up to be the premier governor’s race in the nation.

This race not only has statewide but national implications and will serve as a referendum for the national Tea Party movement Kansas has been a Tea Party stronghold. But if it loses its governorship to a Democrat in one of the nation’s most Conservative state, this sends a strong message that if it isn’t working here it won’t work anywhere else.

Media pundits both in Kansas and nationwide are looking at Brownback’s tepid 63 percent victory over Jennifer Winn – a one-issue, pro-marijuana, little funded opponent as a sign of trouble. Nobody thinks that 37 percent was a Winn-generating vote as it was an anti-Brownback revolt.

It will be interesting to see how much of an indicator this election will be when it comes to the statewide election in November. Are there enough Democrats, Independents, and disgruntled Republicans to overthrow the Republican Governor?

I’m not so sure. One thing that Brownback has is a large vault of political cash from national Republican PAC sources who aren’t about to let a state like Kansas get away from them if they can help it. Democrats, who are likely to lose the U.S. Senate and lose ground in the House because of President Obama’s lack of popularity, are looking for a big upset in Kansas to salvage the night.

You may want to leave the state for the next two months, folks. The governor’s race is going to be a bloodbath unlike anything ever seen in this state in years, maybe ever.

3. Fluoridation? 

The Wellington City Council will decide soon whether to put an initiative on the November ballot over whether or not the City of Wellington should continue fluoridating the city water supply.

I must admit I don’t know enough about the subject at the moment to comment either way. I do know though, every community that has fluoridation as a ballot issue becomes a major source of controversy. People can become quite testy and insults tend to escalate.

Coming soon – anti-fluoridation campaign sign.

Here’s the thing. Wellington has had fluoridation in its drinking water for decades, and I never once wrote a story about the subject, nor have heard any real outcry on the subject.

My biggest worry if this becomes an election ballot issue, then suddenly the world will come to an end and everyone will draw battle lines on a subject that nobody was really thinking about in the first place. It will be like the banning horses in the Wheat Festival Parade controversy last month. It didn’t become an issue until people were made aware of it then all hell broke loose.

Is fluoridation really a pertinent enough issue to divide the community into a civil war? I’m neither for or against the fluoridation issue, but I do believe in picking your fights. Why not let civil unrest occur on subjects that may truly make a difference in the community?

Nevertheless, if the council decides to make this a public referendum, Sumner Newscow will be there to present the pros and cons over fluoridation in the water supply so people can make an informed decision.

4. Police notes… 

An interesting debate derived this week on Sumner Newscow from a story about an alleged marijuana drug operation in Wellington. While I thought the debate would center on the legalization of marijuana, it moved into the realms of whether or not Sumner Newscow should print police notes on people who are charged for various offenses. Some believe the only reason we print police notes is to gossip, and generate hits on this website.

My position is police notes are a matter of public record, and I would be derelict of my duty if I would withhold that information from the public. However, I found a commenter named “2tired” who wrote an even better response:

“The police notes and arrest reports are vital to our way of life. These reports are a public record of arrests and crimes that a person has allegedly committed. These public reports prevent what third world countries live with everyday — secret arrests and trials along with detention camps that no longer occur here. You would not have to travel far from the USA to find these things do exist. That is why the framers of the constitution added freedom of speech and the press to report. While it may suck to see your name in the paper, it’s just part of system designed to prevent people from just disappearing.”

Very well put 2tired.

Also, police notes are a good deterrent, especially in a small town where some people would rather die than suffer the embarrassment caused from being mentioned in the police notes.

5. Shout out of the week…

I just can’t get over the football mural on the back of the press box at Crusader football stadium at Sellers Park. This was due to the cooperating effort of Impact Bank, and a select group of people including Samson Ledesma, a WHS grad who made the design. It’s grassroots efforts like these that makes Wellington such a special place to live.

Great job guys.

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