Election Results - Two WW writers chime in...

You're In, And Then You're Out

Tuesday's election results are in, and we're sure that this year's Kissimmee candidates are already planning what they're going to do with that extra 2-3 hours they don't have to spend getting 20 voter signature cards completed.

Seriously, though, we thought that the Kissimmee "election reform" slate would be voted straight up or down. So it is telling to us that 4 of the 5 initiatives were passed, but local voters clearly said no to the idea of eliminating term limits for city elected officials.

So, commissioners, your time in office continues to be limited. Use it well.

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Grab your towel and DON'T PANIC!

The polls touting the demise of the property tax amendment were wrong and now local governments must face the reality of what it means to serve the people. The property tax amendment passed with overwhelming support and should be a clear indicator to local officials of what their next step should be. To this we add, grab your towel and don't panic!

For many of our readers this statement will not make sense just like the idea of lowering taxes did not make sense to so many, so let's take a moment to explain the title.

"A towel ... is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. ... You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V ... wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat; wrap it around your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very, very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough. ... Any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still know where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with." — The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

The idea is that our local officials, much like intergalactic travelers, must now find a way to deal the with the situation at hand without panicking. We know that much whining is about to spill out through the local media and that the public will be blamed for not understanding the depth of their ignorance in all things governmental, but the votes are in. Cut the taxes. Stop wasting time talking about what the state has done to you.

The WayneWho staff would like to offer one simple suggestion to help our local officials get through this "taxing" situation. We suggest that on the covers of your budgets you inscribe the phrase "DON'T PANIC" in large bold friendly letters just like the best-selling intergalactic travel guide The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

There was a point to this story, but it has temporarily escaped the chronicler's mind.

Oh, yes... The idea is that if you know where your towel is and you DON'T PANIC, you will make the right decisions and help those you were elected to represent.