JPits March 22, 2012 at 02:27 am

This has made it very clear that The People just didn't understand what they were voting for. Should I vote to elect an Auditor & a Recorder - well of course, yes! And so they/we did... And in the next box, should I votel vote to eliminate their positions in December? Uh... well... huh... Sounds good to me? So yes???
My goodness. Way to go in confusing the voters, Kendall County. This county is far too big to continue being small minded. Really not pleased with this Auditor/Recorder vote result. It is just so... well... weird...

Kay March 22, 2012 at 04:37 pm

if you read anything before the vote it was PERFECTLY CLEAR (CRYSTAL) on exactly how to vote! I think it was explained ad nauseum on what "yes" meant.

JPits March 22, 2012 at 04:41 pm

Oh I read it - and I knew that I wanted to vote for the auditor and the recorder TO BE ELECTED and to NOT eliminate their position.
Unfortunately, it was set up to be eliminated in the wording. I believe that many did NOT read. It just doesn't make sense. Vote FOR the office then vote against it... Good plan for the designed outcome.

Jane Enviere March 22, 2012 at 04:52 pm

Most people probably were not pouring over things before they voted. That's just reality. And while I do keep up on things, and I am a reasonably intelligent person, I had to read it several times to be sure that I was casting the appropriate vote. I don't think Janelle is off base here.
It was odd. No matter what your preferred outcome.

Kay March 22, 2012 at 05:04 pm

Most intelligent people read and understand what they are voting on before they vote-especially if it is very important to them.

JPits March 22, 2012 at 05:14 pm

&&& Thanks Jane - Yes, I too am an educated voter. I knew exactly how I was going to vote on that issue specifically. And I still found it very strange.

Jane Enviere March 22, 2012 at 05:17 pm

I don't think people lack intelligence if they took a moment to pause and review what they were choosing and examine whether it made sense or not. Maybe they want to make sure that they were, what was it...CRYSTAL CLEAR about their choice. lol
I agree Janelle -- it was weird. But so many things around here are rather backward that it's almost be expected. ; )

JPits March 22, 2012 at 05:18 pm

In no way did it make sense for people to vote for 2 people for 2 different office THEN immediately elimate the offices they just voted for them for...
Seems like there must have been some kind of a disconnect. Just weird.

JPits March 22, 2012 at 06:46 pm

Tea Party goals are to achieve a BETTER government maintained by the people by ensuring responsible elected officials. A smaller government is an obvious byproduct of that.
Achieving those goals should not be enduced or encouraged by a cloak and dagger agenda. As we saw with this ballot initiative. The political buzz word of the century: Transparency Kendall county is far too big of a county to be so small minded and short sighted. This was a very poor decision to even put on the ballot for the long term for a county that is so large.

Jerry Bannister March 22, 2012 at 09:00 pm

Dillon64, I can assure you that I am for small government. Having an elected Recorder was NOT expansion of government.
I can show you the pictures of my first TEA Party if you like? Where I made it possible for hundreds of people to voice their concerns over what was going on. I couldn't be an organizer the next year because my Father was ill. But I did help the Wheeler's on the second one in a very small way anyway. Would you like to help me put one on in 2013? It's not as easy as it looks. I can also document what I have done for the Republican Party over the last several years to get good people in office. Since you have chosen to post with a pseudonym I cannot say for sure that I have done more than you in Kendall County politics, but I would be willing to bet I have, since there are few that have done more. I have helped on campaigns (MANY), helped with the Central Cmte, helped the Republican Women and the YR's too. And my wife has as well. Maybe at some point we can work together on getting more good people elected here instead of talking AT each other on the internet.

Jerry Bannister March 22, 2012 at 09:27 pm

Kay, it's hard to tell from just text, but I think you are indicating you saw too much from me, them or us on the Recorder referendum. It's hard to know in a campaign when too much is enough. It's especially hard when you are dealing with an "idea" rather than a traditional opponent. Even though all sides of an issue or candidacy are out talking to people, you can never talk to everyone in this size of race, county-wide in my case. So all sides plow on, doing all they can to inform the people, and of course hope our idea, candidate or our own campaign wins. I don't know how you voted, and it's not my business, but thank you for being an informed voter.

Pat Stiles March 22, 2012 at 10:01 pm

It was worded to confuse people that is obvious. The proof is in the numbers. 4585 voters wanted to keep the elected auditor position. And 7717 voters voted for the guy running for the position. Same with recorder 3706 voters wanted to keep the position and the man got 7432 votes to win the position. Seems a little upside down doesn't it? There are over 3000 more votes in each category that voted to keep the position. Why would you vote to eliminate the position then vote for the guy running. Does not make sense.

Rennetta March 23, 2012 at 12:24 am

I agree Kay. The offices were triggered by the release of the official census. For the voters of Kendall County to get a chance to "have their say" it had to be placed on the ballot.
As you undoubtedly are aware the wording of Public Questions are typically determined by attorneys, as was the case in these referenda. I believe the attorneys living and/or working in Kendall County have met the same educational standards as those in other vicinities. It's my understanding that attorneys typically follow legal precedent when available. A few examples of referenda to keep offices from being split or to recombine them read like this: Shall the office of Recorder of Deeds in Jackson County be abolished... Shall the Office of Recorder of Deeds of DeKalb County be eliminated... Adams County / referendum to eliminate Williamson County /referendum to eliminate Tazewell County / referendum to eliminate

Rennetta March 23, 2012 at 12:36 am

Pat-Many strange things happen in the privacy of the polling booth. And there are still many people who are concerned that if they don't fill in an oval in each ballot section, the rest of their votes won't count.

Scott Henderson March 23, 2012 at 01:01 am

@Jerry Bannister - Thank you for all that you did to expose the release of Social Security Numbers on the internet by the current clerk's office (I'm not blaming the clerk personally for the error, but it did happen under her watch). I'm still appalled that our county officials do not view this as a significant breach of privacy and have not made any attempt to notify those who were impacted. I'm also concerned that there are "wayback" websites that allow the retrieval of archived web pages. The mere removal of the information from the website may not have completely solved the problem. Those who were impacted should be contacted so they can take steps to protect themselves from identity theft. It's the right thing to do.
I'm sorry that the referendum vote went against you, but I hope you will consider running for County Clerk in two years.

Judy J. March 23, 2012 at 01:12 pm

Here's what I don't understand - why didn't anyone question the cost figures that were put out by the county board? It was so obviously inflated to scare the voters. Why didn't any reporters question that?