OPINION: Sadly, we can’t shove elephant, donkey out the county door

But the big animals will probably never be shoved out of the door of the county commission meeting room. They’re too heavy to move. They’ve been there too long. Plus, you’ll surely find people from Atlanta blocking the way.

How about giving Madison County voters the option on non-partisan elections?

Nope, not likely.

A Democrat proposing non-partisan elections is generally met with an easy wave of dismissal. All the sand in the hour glass shifted toward the Republicans. And Democrats who want to change the system are easily smeared with the sour grapes charge.

But Thomas is a Republican and faces the scorn of his party in proposing a change to the system. He spoke Monday of the problems he has with the partisan system at the local level: the lack of privacy in having to reveal your party affiliation to poll workers during primaries, the inability to vote in all local elections since not all races are on the same party ticket — the confusion that split ballots cause for many voters.

I’ve been a broken record on this. I don’t see what being a Republican or a Democrat has to do with your stance on a zoning request, your decision on personnel matters, your thoughts on funding for public safety. I’ve never known local boards to appeal to parties for guidance on such matters. No, they figure things out for themselves based on the circumstances they encounter, the evidence they receive. The only time partisanship really plays into local decision making is at the ballot booth.

So, what are the prospects for changing the system? Of course, getting rid of party politics in this county would require permission from the state. Would state legislators go for it?

Senator Ralph Hudgens said he doesn’t think a Madison County resolution for non-partisan elections at the commission table would gain much traction in the General Assembly.

“It would have tough sledding,” said Hudgens.

The state senator said the only way he would support such a resolution is if it called for a county referendum, but even then, he and many other lawmakers would prefer to keep things the way they are.

“I want to know about where somebody stands,” said Hudgens, on why he feels requiring BOC candidates to declare a party is a good thing.

He said the calls for non-partisan elections are generally made by the weaker party.

And he’s right. They are.

But the sour grapes argument doesn’t diminish the problems with the current system, where a voter can’t participate in all elections that matter to him, such as the Democratic sheriff’s race and Republican commissioners’ races on July 15. Voters who wanted to support or oppose Sheriff Clayton Lowe couldn’t participate in any of the BOC races. And vice versa.

Some people are also a little squeamish about having to expose their political leanings to strangers. Voting is supposed to be a private matter, but declaring a party to workers at the ballot booth has a bit of a doctor’s office feel. Put on this sheet please.

State Rep. Alan Powell said Franklin County leaders passed a resolution calling for non-partisan elections for commission seats a couple of years ago. Hart County was set to piggyback on that action, too.

“If I had my way, it would all be non-partisan,” said Powell.

But the Franklin County action died in Atlanta.

Jeff Lanier, deputy legislative council for the Georgia General Assembly, said Tuesday that there are two statutes in Georgia law regarding non-partisan elections: one that makes all state judicial posts non-partisan and another that gives local governments the option to make certain offices, such as county judge’s posts, non-partisan. He explained that school board seats, municipal posts and elected seats for consolidated governments — such as the Athens-Clarke County Commission — can also be non-partisan, according to state law. But the general statute includes no such option for county commission posts and several other seats, such as sheriff, district attorney and tax commissioner.

If Madison County wants to go non-partisan at the county level, they’ll have to get state legislators to change the general statute, change the state law.

In other words, they’ll have to convince a Republican General Assembly to make non-partisan elections an option for every county in the state, not just Madison County.

The state GOP would have to swallow the sword of party conquest, a most unpleasant task.

I guess it could happen. But the odds are in the same range as me dunking a basketball in the Raider gym or suddenly developing a love for skydiving.

So, I guess we’ll all keep climbing on that old elephant, that old donkey, recognizing the same election sounds and smells, the beaten path from which we cannot veer.

Zach Mitcham is editor of The Madison County Journal.