Zezza
Just in case you haven’t noticed, Election Day is next month.
That is if you haven’t been bombarded with television ads, direct mail pieces and messages on your cellphones.
Since this isn’t a presidential election year, many pundits expect a low turnout. Slightly more than one in four registered voters showed up at Luzerne County polling places in May. Primary elections typically attract fewer voters though I think this year’s turnout was a bit higher than usual due to some heated party contests.
We may not be sending a new individual to the White House at this time but the offices up for grabs are ones that could play an even bigger role in the issues that affect your daily lives. Come November the ballot will include your representative in Congress, Pennsylvania governor, state senator and state representative.
For reasons I never understood, statewide and municipal races never seem to attract the attention of voters as much as selecting a commander in chief. I’ve lived through administrations I supported and those I didn’t and my life didn’t change all that much. The issues that seemed to have the most impact on me were those made by state lawmakers, school boards and municipal officeholders. Think of sales taxes, property taxes, school board decisions, police and fire department coverage, and zoning regulations.
Six years ago, the world was set into a tailspin when COVID struck. In the United States, regulations and mandates differed greatly depending on the state in which you lived. Everything we did was affected – from our job situations to grocery shopping, even dog grooming and dining out. Regardless of how you felt about the way Pennsylvania officials handled the pandemic, it was you, the voter, who directed that decision when you cast your ballot — or didn’t — years earlier during the gubernatorial election.
If you follow your state representatives on social media or read their legislative updates, you’ll see that they make regular appearances in your community. You’ll find them at the church bazaar, food festival, volunteer fire company or the neighbor’s 100th birthday celebration. You can’t get better access than that.
It may be too late to complain about or applaud the response to the COVID outbreak but there are many other pending decisions that directly affect you.
The big topic is data centers. If you do research on these structures, you’ll come to the realization that not only are they inevitable but they’re necessary, too, if we are to compete globally in this scary unknown world of artificial intelligence. The big question is where they will be built. The bigger question is how state and local officials will handle their presence.
That’s why it’s so important to know the individuals who are making decisions in your town and who represent you in Harrisburg. I was encouraged by the turnout of Bear Creek Twp. taxpayers at this week’s special meeting of the Board of Supervisors regarding zoning ordinances that would determine where data centers could be constructed. Two proposals — one that expands the township’s industrial zone and one that doesn’t — are headed for an Oct. 15 vote by the supervisors.
The idea of having a data center built in your back yard or adjacent to your favorite fishing hole or lake is truly a quality-of-life matter and one that hits close to home. Very close.
While zoning is handled on the local level, there are facets of the data center controversy to be decided by the next governor or the person representing you in Harrisburg. Not only do you need to hear how they feel about the issue, but they need to hear how you feel. Chances are they’ll be dropping by your neighborhood one of these days, either at a parade or even knocking on your door. You’ll never get access like that to the White House.
Renita Fennick Zezza is a former Times Leader editor and reporter. You can email her at rmzezza@gmail.com. This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Times Leader.
Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more.
Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism.
Renita Fennick Zezza is a former Times Leader editor and reporter. You can email her at rmzezza@gmail.com. This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Times Leader.