October 2022 NY Edition

GOOD NEWS FROM THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

thepositivecommunity.comOctober 2022 Vol. 22 No. 8

Publisher Adrian A. Council, Sr.

Editor-in-Chief Jean Nash Wells

Associate Editor R. L. Witter

Sales Angela Ridenour Adrian Council, Jr. Marc Williams Satori MPR Cheryl Saunders Austin Fenner

Contributing Writers Glenda Cadogan Fern Gillespie

Contributing Photographers Vincent Bryant Ryan Council Regina Flemming Bob Gore Raymond Hagans Bruce Moore Wali Amin Muhammad Seitu Oronde Karen Waters

Art Direction & Layout Penguin Design Group Maishman Media, LLC Raymond Hagans

Executive Assistant Leslie Nash

Community & Government Affairs

Wayne Smith

The Positive Community Corp. 133 Glenridge Avenue Montclair, NJ 07042 973-233-9200 Fax: 973-233-9201 Email: info@thepositivecommunity.com Website: thepositivecommunity.com

All contents © The Positve Community Corporation. All Rights Reserved. This publication, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced, stored in a computerized or other retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means whatsoever without the prior written permission of The Positive Community Corporation. Any opinions expressed herein are solely the opinions of the writer(s) and not necessarily those of The Positive Community TM its management or staff. The Positive Community TM reserves the right to retain all materials and does not assume reponsibility for unsolicited materials.

The Last Word

BY R.L. WITTER

VOTE LIKE YOUR DAY-TO-DAY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT

What’s your favorite part of

fall? Some will tell you it’s the changing colors of the leaves or the cool breeze that makes a whooshing sound through them. Others will tell you how much they love apple picking, visiting a pumpkin patch, or ingesting EVERYTHING pumpkin spice. Nope; not me! My favorite thing about the autumn season is ELEC- TION DAY!! Yes, I am somewhat of a nerd, but hear me out.

Of course, there are some aspects of Election Day I don’t like, including standing in line and walking to my car in a dark parking lot, but what do I love? I love having my voice heard! I love knowing that my opinions and my voice count and all I have to do is cast my vote to put them to work.

Some say our votes in New York and New Jersey don’t count because we’re “coastal elites” whose states will always vote blue and despite our exponentially larger populations, we still get the same two senators as states with millions fewer people. While the equal representation is true and could stand to be reviewed, our votes still count. Let me explain to you how and why.

Our voting starts on the local level. We have options and I like to vote for

all of them! So many people only think of the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the presidency when they think about voting, but they’re missing out on the really big stuff. What could be bigger than candidates for national office? Believe it or not, candidates for local office.

We have the privilege of voting for school board members, utility commission members, councilmembers, judges, and mayors. These are the people who propose and enact the policies and laws that affect most of us on a daily basis. Do you want more speed humps in your neighborhood? That’s the city council. Want a fair, honest police chief or more money allocated to transportation? That’s the mayor. Do you want DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) finally settled? That’s your senator’s job.

Of course, getting to know and voting for local candidates has another benefit beyond the things you’d like to accomplish locally. The better our local candidates are, the better our national candidates are. Afterall, most national candidates cut their teeth in local politics before moving to the national stage. So, if we want better options for Senate, Congress, and the presidency, let’s elect effective councilmembers, mayors, etc. who represent our values and opinions.

With all we’ve been through in the past five years, it has never been more important to vote our values and our consciences. If you don’t want to brave the elements or wait in line, request a mail-in ballot. But if you do decide to vote in person, I’ll see you in line with my pumpkin spice latte.

82 The Positive Community October Issue 2022 www.thepositivecommunity.com