As I See It
Do voters care who La Crosse’s mayor is?
At the end of Tuesday, we’ll learn who’s officially on the ballot for mayor of La Crosse. Four years ago, when we also had an open seat for mayor, 10 candidates filed papers and were on the ballot.
It was a lot to take in, especially because seemingly every organization in the city opted to have some sort of debate. That included us at WIZM, who hosted two debates — with five candidates each.
In a landscape where local politics across the nation gets little attention, it was refreshing to see this groundswell of support to get to know each candidate and help the voters make an informed decision.
The problem, though, people don’t appear interested in voting.
All the interviews, questionnaires and debates resulted in just over 9,100 voting between Vicki Markussen and Mitch Reynolds four years ago. Before that, the race Tim Kabat won saw around 9,400 vote.
In a city with a population over 51,000.
This year, it looks like five people will be on the ballot. And we’ll do our best to help everyone get to know these candidates, as well.
But will 18 percent of the population again decide who runs this city for the next four years?
— As I see it, I’m Rick Solem
Roy
January 7, 2025 at 10:27 am
Mr. Solem: (New “As I See It” commenter)
Voter turnout is predicated on voter enthusiasm and nudges from those trying to tell us what to do with our time. Your number of 18% counts the entire population. I hope you realize that minors are not eligible, so the percentage of real voters was more like 25-30%. Still low, I grant you, but it is a proper number.
Proper? Yes.
What drives voter turnout is a perceived change, for the good or the bad. 4 years ago, the choices were Vicki Markussen and Mitch Reynolds. Your opinion of a low turnout tells us that the voters viewed the choices as Ho and Hum, but not dangerous enough to spur a Warning Light response, but also not inspiring to the level of “Change in the Wind.”
Markussen, sort of a Chamber type, (They tend to “Chamber” more than “Commerce”) is running again against 4 others, so far.
Reynolds, meanwhile, promised us 4 years ago before he won, that he “would not rest” until La Crosse’s homeless problem was solved. If you find him irritable these days, just remember that you would be too, if you hadn’t slept since 2000. The problem finally ate him alive and He had to fly off to Korea and India to ponder the effects of plastic bottles in the Mississippi River for a diversion.
So, I say to you, better voter turnout? Get more candidates who raise your blood pressure. Until then, whatever the turnout is, it’s normal.
Ken Harwood
January 7, 2025 at 11:49 am
Conflating the city’s population with its eligible voters? Lazy. Ignoring that La Crosse has a ton of transient college students who aren’t voting here? Lazy. No comparison to turnout in other elections, locally or nationally? Lazy. 9,000 voters isn’t bad for a mayoral race in a city this size — maybe try analyzing instead of just throwing stats around like a hot take on autopilot.