Election Day! Where to Vote?

South Ogden City Council Elections are today!  So your next questions should be: Where do you vote?

It is easy!

• Precinct 1 - 6 you will vote at City Hall. This is for everyone north of 4800/5100 South.
• Precinct 7-12 you will vote at the South Ogden Jr High Gym (Someone has to use it)

Polls open at 7 am and will stay open until 8 pm.

Once again I welcome you to read some of my posts about the election and wish everyone good luck

South Ogden City Council Elections

Sorry for the lack of posts!  I have been traveling all over the world lately.  But the Standard yesterday had a great article on the candidates  I thought you all should see:

http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/10/21/candidates-looking-revitalize-s-ogden

But I would like to point out some things that Brent Strate had to say:

 A veteran teacher of finance and financial literacy at Bonneville High School, Strate, 45, is wary about recently implemented utility rate increases and how they've affected entrepreneurship in the city. 

"I'm concerned about the impact on just a few businesses that I thought were a little too much as far as the utility rate increases," he said. "Of course, some of that was necessary, but I think the top rates are a little too progressive."

A few area businesses that use large amounts of water have been met with drastically increased rates -- especially when compared with other cities -- a fact Strate said could discourage certain owners from coming to South Ogden.

He cites his ability to evaluate situations from a cost- benefit analysis and to ask insightful questions as his strengths when it comes to sitting on the council. 

 This is the kind of person we need on the council!  I have been saying these things for years and I am excited to see someone coming with this kind of thinking. Please read this article and also check out Brent Strate's blog at http://brentstrate.blogspot.com/

South Ogden City Election Results

You can see the results here: http://t.co/k9UGqbX

My prediction of "Skip" being eliminated was correct.  I am surprised how close the race is between Strate and Zaugg.
Here is the breakdown:


Total Votes 1479 - 6.87% voted - Ouch!

• Michael Jacobazzi 83 5.61%
• Sallee Orr 383 25.90%
• Marvin (Skip) Sexton 52 3.52%
• Wayne M. Smith 326 22.04%
• Brent Strate 211 14.27%
• Rick T. Westmoreland 179 12.10%
• Kelly R. Zaugg 245 16.57%

In a nutshell here are the rankings:


1st - Salle Orr
2nd - Wayne Smith
3rd - Kelly R. Zaugg
4th - Brent Strate
5th - Rick Westmoreland
6th - Michael Jacobazzi 


If Michael has any chance he will have to do a lot of work, honestly I am almost counting him out.  So right now it is Kelly's to lose he will need to keep his nose clean and watch out for negative attacks. Strate is close and Westmoreland is behind him; however Rick will have the most ground to make up and will need to bridge the gap between his regular constituents and branch out to new ones.  His campaigning will have to go the next level and be more than asking for donations on facebook.  Strate really hit the streets, probably did the most door to door out of anyone.  If he keeps that up he will pass Zaugg. I think some key endorsements would help, just depends on how much he is willing to spend to get out there.   Primary voters are way different than general election voters, and even worse during a municipal election.


More to come and comments welcome.

South Ogden Primary Elections Today!

Don't forget to vote today! - The South Ogden Facebook Page has a voting map: See Here

Polls are open until 8pm tonight!

One more time here are some candidate info from the Standard Examiner:

http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/08/31/s-ogden-council-candidates-tackle-crime-business

Also here is my blog post on the candidates:

http://www.fromwhereisitblog.com/2011/09/thougths-about-south-ogden-primary.html

Thoughts about South Ogden Primary Candidates

With at least one seat up for grabs, because two will most likely land with the incumbents.  I have begun thinking about who deserves this last seat.  So lets talk about each candidate.

Sallee Orr - Personally like Sallee Orr.  She has had lots of guts to stand up for what she believes on the council.  The number of meetings I have attended I have seen her time and time again go against the grain.  Not to mention she has stood behind many great causes including a cross walk on Highway 89.

Wayne Smith - He has been a strong presence on the council as well and has brought a much needed connection to the public safety side of things.  He and I have spoken many times about the community and he will continue to do well.

As for the open seat, well I know very little about the other candidates but here is what I do know.

Rick Westmoreland - Previously endorsed by me when he ran for mayor.  This time he appears to be very busy and hasn't had much time for campaigning.  He created a facebook and twitter page to start communicating but he isn't an active user.  Rick's biggest issues will be directed toward public safety.  His profession makes him very knowledgeable in this area and could be an asset to the council.  However he hasn't really attended any council meetings since he was defeated for mayor and he is still bugged about South Ogden's traffic school policies.

Kelly Zaugg - Veteren South Ogden Police Officer.  Rumor has it, and I mean rumor, he just has a bone to pick with Chief Shupe and wants to take it out by running four council.  Who knows?

Brent Strate - Brent is a local school teacher and has been very active on the campaign circuit.  Personally I have been very impressed with Mr. Strate and his desire to run.  His number one concern is to improve efficiences, save money and potentially lower the cost of government for South Ogden.  Also he has been attending a number of council meetings, planning commission meetings and Urban Forestry commission meetings.

Mike Jacobazzi - No Clue - Feel free to post info

Marvin Sexton - No Clue - Feel free to post info

What I have found most interesting has been the main issues of this years candidates are exactly what I have been talking about on this blog for months.  Good luck to all and look for my endorsements as we get closer to the final election.

Comments welcome.

South Ogden Primary Election Tuesday

Hopefully you know this Tuesday begins the South Ogden Primary elections.  To help with your decisions I have decided to post a link to the Standard Examiner's profile of the candidates.  See Here: http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/08/31/s-ogden-council-candidates-tackle-crime-business

Essentially there are 7 candidates running for three seats.  One will be eliminated on Tuesday's election.  The candidates are:

• Sallee Orr - Incumbent
• Wayne Smith - Incumbent
• Rick Westmoreland
• Kelly Zaugg
• Mike Jacobazzi
• Brent Strate
• Marvin "Skip" Sexton

Good luck to all. - Endorsements to come as we get closer.  My prediction is Marvin Sexton will be eliminated.

Comments welcome.

South Ogden Photos Needed

South Ogden City Council is preparing for the 75th Anniversary of the city.  In commemoration of 75 years the city is publishing a book about South Ogden and it's history.  What they missing is photos!  Do you or someone you know have photos?  They are looking for the 40s, 50s and 60s especially.

Contact Councilmember Russ Porter at rporter@southogdencity.com or 801-479-7216

See the Standard Examiner's blurb on the topic as well:

http://www.standard.net/topics/books/2011/04/11/south-ogden-chooses-publisher-annniversary-book

Is South Ogden budget crisis over.

The Standard Examiner's Gentry Reinhart, South Ogden City Reporter, filed an article regarding the on going South Ogden budget crisis this weekend. (See Here) Finally this one had some good news attached to it. Due to the hard work of the council, department heads and City Manager Matt Dixon, South Ogden now currently has a projected surplus of $5,000.

According to the article, Matt Dixon said:

"Again I want to emphasize that this is preliminary and we're still going to be working on this as we go," City Manager Matt Dixon said. "Right now based on the numbers we put in, we have a balanced budget with a very small $5,000 surplus."

This is great news, the budget is finally balanced.  However according to Mr. Reinhart, Dixon and the council are already asking for people to submit budget requests for capital and one-time money projects.  No, we are not bringing back the all expenses paid Christmas dinner to the Timbermine just yet. However we are asking for people's wish list. This is like opening the flood gates during a tsunami.

With only a projected surplus of $5,000, if revenues actually materialize, I think we are jumping the gun in asking for projects.  Not to mention this was the same team that budget for a 2% sales tax increase in the middle of a recession because CNN said it was over. (See Here)  I wouldn't start looking at projects yet, you can hold surplus for awhile longer until we know we are out of the clear.  

Comments welcome.

City Council Meeting Tonight

Finally got a hold of an agenda for tonights meeting.  Family has been sick, so not sure if I will be attending.

But here is the agenda: http://goo.gl/ZWGnD

What goals should South Ogden City Council set in 2011?

This weekend is the annual city council retreat.  This is where the City Council, Mayor and other Department Heads really hash out a strategic plan for the year.  This year’s agenda can be found via the South Ogden City Facebook page: http://fb.me/QSo4q2Qh

You can see from the agenda a lot of time will be spent on revising South Ogden’s mission and values, then setting goals based on these items.  I have been impressed with City Manager Matt Dixon’s efforts to focus the council on real specifics of how to improve our city.   Will the retreat produce the kind of goals and energy we need?  Who knows, but I feel we are headed in a good direction.

Do you have things you would like to see the city focus on?  What kind of strategic goals should they set?

Now a lot of us can jump and say…I want a swimming pool!  But a swimming pool isn’t what is going to make South Ogden truly better.  (But it would be nice)

Here are three topics I would recommend to the council:

·  Economic Development:  We have tons of retail and potential retail space available to some real great companies.  It just needs to be sold.  I have written a number of blog posts about this and it will be crucial to our success.

·   Increase Fiscal Responsibility:  It appears there has been a lot of freedom when it comes to spending and poor planning when it comes to budgets.    Our current deficit spending is unacceptable and in some case I feel could have been avoidable.

·   Curb the increase in Rental Properties: I am deeply concerned at the growing trend for South Ogden homes to turn into rentals.  As housing prices continue to drop, investors will begin purchasing homes and turning them into rental properties.  Many of our current landlords are absentee landlords and the properties often go un kept and decline even more in ascetics and value.   In my six years in South Ogden I have seen this happen a lot.  Something needs to happen immediately to stop this trend.  Better economic development, good landlord programs and enforcement of ordinances can make a difference here.

I am eager to hear your thoughts.

South Ogden turning around budget woes with $82,000 reduction | Standard-Examiner

As many of you know I am a debt-free geek.  I hate seeing even local government in debt.  So when I hear the city is looking to pay down it's own debt, I get very happy.  Last weeks city council meeting, Steve Liebersbach explained to the council how South Ogden has been able to reduce their budget by $82,000 and they are still pushing for more.  The shortfall is now looking at 2.2 percent and hopefully things will get better.  Gentry Reinhart, Standard Reporter, has a nice synopsis of the meeting in today's Standard Examiner (See Here). This is great news! However the one item I wanted to bring up was the infamous Gym Facility.  Apparently we came in under budget on the construction, so a little money is left over.

Regarding the agreement the city entered into for the gymnasium at the new South Ogden Junior High, Liebersbach informed officials that payments to the school district were complete with $80,000 to $100,000 remaining in the construction fund the city set aside for the new facility.

The city plans to apply those funds toward debt service on the initial bonds issued for the project, which in turn reduces the amount that would be transferred from the general fund to the debt service fund.

"This will also help out the city in regards to moving forward for this year and for next year," Liebersbach said.

What Mr. Reinhart failed to mention in his article, is the city isn't planning to really pay down the debt.  They are paying down so they can skip or make lower payments than originally scheduled.  Meaning we are actually robbing Peter to pay Paul.  We are taking left over cash, paying down a debt so we can skip a payment.  That is like taking one credit card and paying off another to avoid making that months payment.  In the end you still have to make the payments in full.  So we are really no where closer to paying of this revenue sucking gym facility aka basketball court.

Nice. Gotta Love Debt.

Traffic School in South Ogden

The Standard Examiner last Friday had an article regarding the traffic school changes from our past City Council meeting.  It gave the quick over view of the changes I mentioned in my blog post from the meeting on January 4th.  But what no one has really discussed is the potential controversy this traffic school change brings.

Is changing the law to allow people every two months to return to traffic school really just a money making system to bring more revenue into the city and justify the high costs of our current policy system?  Are we essentially allowing people to pay every two months to keep their records clean but really learn nothing from the system?

Personally I had to learn this the hard way.  Traffic school wasn't around when I got a ticket.  I eventually amounted enough points to grant my a license suspension and had to make a decision.  Learn to obey the speed limit or stop driving.  I am happy to say I have now gone 5 years with out a moving violation.  I paid the price in high fees and going through the process.  However I am beginning to feel we may be moving to a "Pay to Play" system.  Where no matter what you do wrong, every two months you can pay to clear your record.

Yes this will increase revenue but will this cause a bigger social problem in the future.  Drivers who never really learn to obey the law because they know in two months they can pay.

Something to ponder.  I welcome your comments.

South Ogden City Council Meeting 1-4-2011

Last nights city council meeting was filled with a few interesting points worth mentioning. Skipping over the Class A Beer License for the Mt. Ogden Grill, there were a few resolutions that brought a number of new faces to the meeting.

First was resolution 11-01.  There was a lot of tow truck drivers at the meeting for the Towing Services Agreement for South Ogden.  A new system is being put into place to allow South Ogden to choose who is used for towing in the city.  The current system puts all the eligible towing companies into a rotation system with all of Weber County.  This new system would allow South Ogden to set its on criteria and run its own rotation.  In addition this would allow South Ogden to decide who not to use for towing services.  Councilperson Porter asked if preferential treatment would be given to local towing companies. Which is a valid question. Chief Shupe responded by saying no preferential treatment would be given and all are encouraged to bid.  Hopefully this new system will open it up for more people.

The second resolution of note is the changes to traffic school.  Under the old system if you got a ticket and had not had one in the past six months you could go to traffic school.  Now South Ogden will change the month requirement to two months.  Chief Shupe explained this opens up more opportunities for people who have had moving violations.  At the same time, I think this opens up the door for more money.  I am glad to see the change but also realize this is now a potential revenue generator.  Not a bad idea.

A lot of discussion on where to put our focus for potential RAMP funds in 2011.  Jon Andersen laid out a number of projects South Ogden is in need of or is working on.  There was much debate on which should come first.  It came down to continued work on the nature park, new light posts at Club Heights Elementary and a new bathroom for the new gym facility and ball fields.  Unfortunately I felt South Ogden City Council was backed into a corner and not able to full research the problem.  Instead they were presented with the issues and asked to make a decision quickly on the spot.  I wished they could have taken some more time to make this decision.  In the end the nature park takes priority due to time and already allocated funds.  Sorry Club Heights.

Last but not least, I was appointed to the Urban Forestry Commission.  I am excited to participate more in the process and I hope to do some good with the commission and the city.

City Council Meeting Tonight - Appointment to the Urban Forestry Commission

Tonight will be South Ogden’s City Council Meeting at 6 pm. Three resolutions are on the table that will have limited affect on the regular resident; however there should be some good discussion worth noting.

Some of you have noticed my name is on the agenda for tonight’s meeting.  Mayor Minster will be recommending my appointment to the Urban Forestry Commission.  I submitted an application a few months ago and it is now time to re-appoint the members of the commission and fill an open seat.  If all goes well I will be on the commission by the end of the night.  I am excited for a chance to serve more in the community and work with city officials a little more closely.  I have wanted to be involved with this commission since I started my blog and decided to keep my 70 year old maple in front of my park strip.  Thanks for all the comments and emails I have received regarding this.

I will be blogging more after the meeting.

Standard Examiner Follow Up on South Ogden Budget Crisis

The Standard Examiner today had a long awaited follow up to their searing editorial of South Ogden City finances. Reporter Gentry Reinhart reported on an email sent by City Manager Matt Dixon and the December 7th City Council Meeting (even though he came late and left early from the meeting). Mr. Reinhart rehashed information my blog has already brought to light, but since not everyone in the world reads my blog this is good to hear from the Standard. Some of the highlights are the city is really not $700,000 in the hole, but really just over $300,000; also the city has cut its budget dramatically to bring the deficit to $83,000. Read the full article here.


What Reinhart failed to report on, because he left before the conversation was even over, was South Ogden City’s plan for a Sales Tax Increase in 2010-2011. South Ogden has the world’s most optimistic crystal ball. Also interesting to note is the dramatic cut in fleet services; essentially saying South Ogden will stop taking care of their vehicles. This in reality will be like mortgaging our future and will more than likely facilitate a need to buy new cars sooner rather than maintain them over the next few years.

Matt Dixon, city manager, is doing a great job trying to communicate the problems we are facing. This article is direct results of that and those who do not read my blog will have this great information. Even if Mr. Reinhart missed some great opportunities to really report the news.

Hopefully we see some sales tax increases in the coming months or will be likely having this same meeting again.

See Previous Posts:

http://www.fromwhereisitblog.com/2010/12/south-ogden-city-council-meeting-12-7.html
http://www.fromwhereisitblog.com/2010/11/standard-examiner-south-ogden-needs.html


I welcome your comments.

South Ogden City Council Meeting 12-7-2010 - "Recession is Over???"

Tonight's meeting covered the major issues surround the 2010-2011 budget and brought to light even more issues of concern.  What we have learned is South Ogden has been planning this years budget under the assumption the recession and its ill effects are behind us.  In doing so they planned for a 2% sales tax revenue increase for this years budget.  However the exact opposite has occurred causing our city to plunge into a distressed situation.

Most of the issues regarding the $700,000 deficit were cleared up and I have posted Matt Dixon's response in the download section or it can be found here.  He shows we are not as bad as we have been hearing; yet being in debt is still not great.  Mr. Dixon's explanation and proposed cuts help us to see South Ogden really is doing a lot to balance its budget.  Interestingly some of the proposed cuts are to things like $12,500 in 401k matches, changes to insurance benefits, and reduction in staff.  Also of interest is the fact that if we didn't have a $23,000 bill for the gym facility, we could have saved some of those items.  Sorry employee benefits...the gym has priority. Big cuts are coming to our fleet services as well, which I think will hurt is in the long term; but a quick solution for now.

However the question remains, why are we so off?  I asked the city council and Steve Liebersbach, the city Finance Director, how South Ogden calculates its sales tax projections to help get a better understanding of how we became so off this year.  Steve went on to explain he uses historical data from the past five to seven years, he also takes into consideration trend analysis, monthly reports from the state tax commission, and of course he also looks at the local, state and national economic situations. So what has the past years data shown us and what did we estimate? Here is the answer:

The 2008-2009 budgeted sales tax revenues were down 4%. The 2009-2010 revenues were down 5.7%.  Based on this information, how would you budget? Would you project sales tax revenues to be up or down. Well Steve suggested because reports showed the recession had ended in 2009, South Ogden should project a 2% increase in sales tax revenue. Yes, you heard me right, South Ogden City projected for a 2% sales tax increase while during a recession (or in the aftermath of one).

Since we had a delay in the effects from the recession, it would only be safe to say we would have a delay in the recovery, don't you think? But we didn't plan that way, we decided to defy all expectations and expect increased revenue. 

The Result?

The following cuts and then some:

1. Early retirement offers in early 2010
2. Reductions in force
3. Replacing one full-time position with a part-time position
4. Elimination of the employee 401k match program
5. Moving to a HDHP/HSA medical insurance plan
6. Delaying certain capital equipment purchases
7. Cuts in training and travel
8. Reduction in overtime allocations
9. Amending building cleaning contracts to 2 days and 3 days instead of 5 days per week
10. Scaling back community and employee special events - no more Timbermine :(

My last question was how South Ogden would survive with revenues going down every year and not being able to cover expenditures. Remember revenue has gone done $360,000 in the past two years and expenditures have gone down only $160,000 in the same time frame.  I used the analogy, if my household failed to bring in enough revenue to cover expenditures I would lose my home.  Steve replied, 

"We can't make the comparison between a household budget and city budget.  A city has savings it can utilize to cover it's losses. The city doesn't operate like a household checkbook, and that is a good thing. Like all of the funds that come in and out of the city there are multiple checkbooks and it doesn't work like a house." 

Well I am sorry he sees it that way, but I disagree. The profit function is the same for everyone, Profit = Revenue - Cost. Tonights cuts are only a band-aid if sales tax revenue continues in a free fall.  But no worries...South Ogden has savings.

South Ogden's Budget Meeting Tonight

As a reminder, tonight's city council meeting will include a public hearing regarding South Ogden's budget and potential cuts. Our city manager, Matt Dixon, appears to have been working around the clock to put together comprehensive plan to help South Ogden emerge from our current situation. At the same time there appears to be some shock and confusion from our local officials at my concern to our budget crisis. I would ask them to remember my blog is titled "From Where I Sit" and so I am posting my opinion based on the limited information I receive regarding the issues, this includes newspapers, minutes, agendas and (when possible) attendance to city council meetings.   At the same time, the resident's of South Ogden can only do the same.   Therefore I am glad tonight we are having a public meeting to help set the record straight and help us all more fully understand the situation at hand.

Some points of interest that will be brought up:

1. Our 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 budgets have all be challenged with a city deficit. However each year we have made attempts to balance this but cutting back and using our general fund. 2008-2009 we had too much in our general fund and needed to use that money, however would have either way so you can't really use that as an excuse. We have used general funds to balance each year but not as much as we may have heard. In total it appears to be $148,147 has been used of general funds in the past two years.
2. General Funds revenues have dropped nearly $360,000 and Expenditures have dropped $168,488 over the past two years. (Interesting expenditures have only dropped half of what our revenues are. If I did that in my home, I would lose my home!)
3. Our current budget deficit is really $377,535 not as high as $700,000 as has been previously mentioned. The cuts planned should bring us down to $83,491. The city has a plan to help make this happen by some reductions in work force, elimination of the 401k match, cutting back in travel, etc.

This is not an easy job and I am sorry we have to go through this. Though it is next to impossible to compare us to other cities (since all have different revenue streams and structures). I am seeing a lot of cities who are not dealing with these same issues, for example like Plain City and Farr West who both made early adjustments to prepare for the drop in sales tax revenue.

In the end, I would really like our city to stop spending more than it has. I am glad we have an emergency fund and can cover our deficits. But for three years straight we have been in the hole, it appears (from where I sit) we've just kept spending and hoped it would all work. This is hard because we are counting on sales tax revenue to help us and the money hasn't come.

What I want to know is how do we estimate how much sales tax we will receive and how do we adjust the estimate for the current economy?

What do you want to know?

South Ogden City - Too Much Spending? Standard Examiner Reports.

I have not been able to attend a city council meeting for sometime due to my schedule; however I wish I had attend this last meeting to have heard the explanation for our current situation.

According to the Standard Examiner and reporter Gentry Reinhart, South Ogden City has some budget issues. South Ogden City has spent a monster $700,000 with no revenue to match it. Brent Litz of Litz & Company, performed the audit and said,

"You're in a challenging position for the general fund. You haven't got a revenue stream that's going to support all of your cost structures you've got in the general fund, and so it's going to be a challenge for you to play that game of balancing revenues and balancing costs and making sure that you keep the equation appropriate."

Some points of concern - Maintaining Facilities and also paying for a new recreation center.  OH WAIT!  If you remember from our previous meetings, the City Council told us this isn't a recreation center it is a gym facility!  Which even back two years ago they predicted we would lose money and few people would use.  See My Posts Here: Gym Facility and Rec Center Meeting (Mayor Garwood admits he will never use it.) 

It will be intersting to hear the cost cutting ideas the city has and how we will get back on budget.  So far, the city has been dipping into their general fund to make things work.  But this is not an endless pool of cash.  We need some better budgeting skills and maybe reconsider how we are going take advantage of our $2.5 Million money pit of a gym facility that we all are paying higher taxes for.

Ordinance changes in response to debate?

During the mayoral and council debate we had on September 3rd. The topic of city cleanup ordinances and how slow they are was discussed. A number of sitting council members and potentials were debating the issue of what to do. You can see full coverage of the debates on the following two posts: (Mayoral, City Council). The main point derived from the debate was the ordinance was to slow and was hard to enforce. Interestingly most of the current council recognized this and appeared to have known it was the problem all a long. My question is, if they knew it was a problem, why hasn't it been fixed?

No worries, the council has now acted. Today's Standard Examiner reports on the topic (See Here). The old ordinance, stating residents have 60 days to comply with cleanup ordinances, has been updated to say they now have 10 days to comply.

What a change! I applaud the council for making such a change. Now lets hope for strong enforcement.

The door is open to discuss how this ordinance came to be and is it a good thing.

South Ogden Newsletter - Becoming a Patriot

Council member Wayne Smith wrote a fantastic article in this months newsletter. Many of you will be getting this in the mail in the next few days. (or download it here) This is a must read for all who live in South Ogden. His theme centers around becoming a patriot and what this means to us here in South Ogden.

Primary elections tend to bring out a small number of voters. But those who do vote are often very well informed and active in the political process. This doesn't mean you have to politically active or minded to vote in the primary; quite the contrary, anyone can vote in the primary election whom is registered. However many will choose not to vote; Mr. Smith explains by choosing not to vote you are,

"abdicating your right to influence government and allowing the will of others, who's opinions may be contrary to yours, to prevail."

That statement really hit home for me. It pushed me to want to want to be even more involved and to truly become a patriot. As Wayne said in his piece, being a patriot doesn't necessarily mean you fought and died for this country (howver those people are patriots). Instead being a patriot means you loved and defended this country by any means possible.

What an amazing way we have to show our love for this country and to defend the democracy we have. We can vote. Take the time study the candidates, even if just a little. Then go out and vote this week.