Disconnected

That's the only way to describe how I feel today.... disconnected.  It's an awkward, uncomfortable, unhappy place to be.

I love Arizona.  Even though I almost died here, I love Arizona.  It's a Wild West culture, where Stetson clad sheriffs tote imposing side arms. It's the home of "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice" ... although I think that 1968's ultra-conservative Barry Goldwater would be considered too liberal by the Tea Partiers who've taken over his Republican Party.  It's where the streets of Tombstone are boardwalks and dust, just as they were in the late 1800's.  The aura in Sedona is life-changing.  It's unlike anyplace I've ever lived, which may account for the sense of dislocation I'm feeling today.

The election results are in.  They do not reflect my ballot.... not hardly at all.  The bond to build an animal shelter passed, as I'd hoped it would.  The Budget Override for the Amphi School District passed, insuring that there will be no further cuts in an already decimated system.  Beyond that, everything and everyone I cared about went down to defeat, or is in a race that is too close to call.

Ron Barber, our up-for-re-election Congressman who was shot ten feet from me four years ago, is ahead of Colonel Martha McSally by 36 votes.  36 votes. There are thousands of provisional and mail-in ballots left to be counted, but this morning I was forced to do the math. 

This is what happens when a district is truly bi-partisan; we are evenly split between Democrats and Republicans and Independents.  Our voter turn out was large, in Pima County, at least.  The further reaches of the District tend to vote more conservatively than metropolitan Tucson's demographic, but there's no way to tell where the outstanding votes originated.  Like last year, we will have to wait and worry.

Wait and worry sounds pretty good to me when I think about the statewide races.  Doug Ducey defeated Fred Duval, in a triumph of I'm a Businessman (Don't ask me how well my franchisees are doing) over Let's Fix Education in Arizona (Don't ask me how I'll pay for it).  The Democrats ran a decent campaign, but I'd have been happier had they concentrated on Ducey's failings as a business leader rather than spending money on six foot replicas of Duval's face emblazoned with a Get Ahead with Fred logo. 

They were humiliating.

Terry Goddard failed in his bid to become Secretary of State.  Last election, he failed to become Governor.  I wonder if he's moving down the ladder; will I find him running for Treasurer next time?  He ran against Dark Money and for reproductive freedoms and he was trounced. 

David Garcia gave Arizonans a chance to vote for a thoughtful educator as Superintendent of Public Instruction.  He had real plans to improve the system.  The results are too close to call right now.  His opponent, running against the Common Core and not for much else, kept a low profile.  It didn't seem to matter; the base came out and voted and now they are 2% apart. The Chamber of Commerce didn't endorse her; Common Core is becoming a standard in America whether Arizona agrees or not and business leaders understood that.  I shudder to consider the state of Arizona's economy as companies choose to locate in states which understand the value of a quality education for a competent workforce.

Dr. Randy Friese and incumbent Victoria Steele are also in a too-close-to-call race.  Since I voted for both of them (2 votes split between 3 candidates) I can only be disappointed in the result.  They are both pro-choice, pro-ACA, pro-education, pro-sensible-gun-legislation.  The other incumbent, Ethan Orr, is not.

Even in the most local of these elections, my neighbors and I disagree. It's disheartening.  Friends are dragging around town with their frowns firmly in place.  At lunch I ran into a couple of like-minded voters; we agreed that it was hard to get out of bed this morning.  It's difficult to face a community which I love but which, apparently, doesn't love me.... or at least, doesn't agree with me.

I am losing my connection to Tucson.  It's not a pleasant feeling.