Election reminder: Most citizens don't vote for anybody

The best words spoken by a candidate during the municipal elections in Clovis came from the city’s new mayor, Mike Morris.

“I won with about 34 percent of the vote,” Morris told The News Editor Kevin Wilson. “Most of the citizens didn’t vote for me. I want to demonstrate to all citizens I am everyone’s mayor.”

The new mayor seems humbled, which is a good place to start.

Too many politicians misinterpret their Election Day victories to mean the majority of people will support their decisions that follow. That could not be further from the truth.

If we drill down into the Clovis municipal election, this is what we learn:

Morris, for example, won support from 33.6 percent of Clovis voters. But there is no reason to think he won the support of 33.6 percent of Clovis’ residents. Far from it.

For starters, only 24 percent of Clovis’ registered voters participated in the election.

That means more than 13,000 residents who could have voted didn’t weigh in.

And it’s also important to remember that Clovis’ population is close to 40,000, meaning more than half the people aren’t eligible to vote for various reasons.

Bottom line: About 4 percent of Clovis’ population gave their blessing for Morris to represent the city as its mayor.

And Morris received more support than most.

City Commissioners Chris Bryant, Helen Casaus, Leo Lovett and Lauren Rowley received, on average, less than 2 percent of the city’s support to be a public representative.

Municipal Judge Vicki Kelley enjoyed by far the most support of any candidate after Tuesday’s election. Almost 9 percent of Clovis’ population went on record saying they wanted her in that position.

Most elections work this way.

It’s the best system anyone can come up with, and it’s a clear signal that all politicians should take to heart, as Morris articulated: Most of the citizens didn’t vote for them.

So congratulations to all the winners on Tuesday, but please remember to wield the power of public office sparingly and lightly. You haven’t been given permission to control all of our lives.

The numbers prove that most of us prefer to govern ourselves.

— David Stevens

Publisher