Ask a room full of local Democrats what we mean by Downballot and you’ll get a pretty consistent answer:
SCHOOL BOARDS
Good answer. There are 90 School Board positions on the ballot this year in Maricopa County.
Now here’s the rest of the story.
Voters will choose who will run your elections, tax your home, and record your home sale. The Board of Supervisors serves as your “town council and mayor” – that is, if you can think of a town council that serves a population larger than 23 states. County officials manage our public health system and the all-important Community Colleges. They fill our school board positions and police our county. They marry people, adjudicate small claims and traffic violations. Our homes and businesses are protected by these local courts and constables. And it almost goes without saying that our county Sheriff’s office protects and serves those in our towns and unincorporated areas.
As of the beginning of February, 63 people have filed for these critical County positions. 73% of them are Republican.
The GOP has mounted extra efforts to run not just for School Boards and Town Councils. They have twice as many candidates for Constable and Justice of the Peace than Democrats do. There aren’t twice as many Republicans as Democrats in Maricopa County. These contests are mostly uncontested, so ……. Those who run, win.
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