Valdese Town Council Elections

It appears that town council elections for Valdese, NC are imminent.   I'm not sure who all's running, but I've seen signs.  Literally. 

There's Frances Hildebran, with a blue and white sign that just says vote for Frances Hildebran.  There's Steve Ogle, with the same kind of sign except it's red and white.  There's Jason Banner whose sign I think is red, white & blue, and asks you to vote for him "For A Better Valdese".   And then I've seen Sandi Walker's sign, which asks you to vote for her for "Common Sense Government".  Her sign is also yellow with black lettering, thus setting her apart from rest of the field in the graphics regard.

Frances & Steve have pretty basic signs, just getting their name out there, letting you know they're running, nothing else. Old school - they probably have the same thing printed up on those funeral home fans so that people who are grieving for their loved ones can think about who to vote for in a couple of weeks.

Jason and Sandi, however, had made campaign promises on their signs. Really general, unmeasurable, impossible to verify campaign promises, but nontheless they've stuck their neck out.

Jason has promised a better Valdese.  My first thought is, better than what?  Better than right now I suppose, but how much better?  What does better mean? Is he going to get all the mills & factories in town churning out furniture and hosiery products and employing hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people like they were 50 to 60 years ago?  Or is he just talking about adding a traffic light where Faet meets Main Street so people can make a left turn without risking their lives.  Or is he just going to get all the traffic lights on Main Street better synchronised?   Or is he going to round up all the non-English speaking people in town and make them prove they're citizens.  I have no idea what his idea of a better Valdese is, but most likely, somone else has a different idea of what a better Valdese is.

Sandi has promised common sense government.  Of course I immediately wonder which common sense, because there seems to be more than one. So much of what a person considers common sense depends on the values instilled in them when they were growing up.   I have common sense about some things, so imagine a large circle that represents my common sense.  Now imagine another circle representing someone elses common sense.   There are parts of the circles that will surely overlap.   If it's cold outside, you should dress warmly.  I believe that's common sense to most people & that would be in the overlapping parts of the circles.    To some people, especially those with lots of money, it's common sense that if a community needs more jobs you should lower taxes on it's wealthiest citizens. To others that makes no sense at all and that may not be in the overlapping parts of the circles.  I'm positive Sandi Walker has common sense, but is it the type of common sense that prays the gay away, or is it the type of common sense that says that now is perhaps not the best time to start life over as a real estate agent.  I have no idea.

Jason & Sandi probably assumed they were putting some bland, safe slogan on their signs, something that sounds agreeable and people would hopefully associate with their names and not really think about.   Neither considered that Pickles the Dog and I walk the mean streets of Valdese every morning, generally south of Main Street, and I see those signs.   I see them, I look closely, trying to catch the nuances of a printed two dimensional piece of small town political advertising, I wonder about them, I read between the lines, I try to figure out what they're really saying, especially if there are any "code" words in them.  Jason and Sandi's signs kind of scare me, I have no idea what their slogans mean to them, and I can easily see the sinister side of  "A Better Valdese" and especially of  "Common Sense Government".   Frances and Steve have no slogans, make no promises, could be they're just really need a job, and for no particular reason I feel a little easier about them.

Doesn't matter.  I've never met Frances, Steve, Jason or Sandi, and probably never will.  I don't know anything about them or what they stand for, which is why I pay attention to the signs.  And we don't live within the Valdese town limits, so I don't reckon I'll be a-votin' for them any how.