Guardian And Others Attend Voting Machine Accuracy Testing

Every candidate in this election in Canyon County got a personal invitation to come to the County Elections Office and witness accuracy testing of our voting machines.  Brad Jackson, Deputy Clerk for Canyon County walked all of us in attendance through the process. 

Your votes maintain a high degree of security from the time your ballot is filled out to the time it is counted electronically by the voting machine.  Write-in ballots are automatically segregated from ballots that have printed names on them.  There are only two write-in candidates in this election, one in Caldwell and one in Notus. 

Early voting ends Friday and the election happens Tuesday of next week on the 5th of November.  It is predicted to be another low turnout election for an off year round voting.  (3,000 people voted in the last Mayoral Election in Caldwell.)

Jim Ogstad Working For Me At 10th and Chicago

The picture in this post is a shot of my good friend Jim Ogstad.  He has returned to the streets of Caldwell once again with his sign campaign; this time to help me get elected mayor of Caldwell.

 Those of you who drove through town during the Jail Bond campaigns will remember Jim and his signs to Vote NO on the Jail Bond elections.  He is a man of his convictions and his support is remarkable given the time and effort it takes to stand out there every day on various corners holding his sign in support of my effort to become the next mayor of Caldwell.

Bicycle Hit And Run Accidents

The CALDWELL GUARDIAN has long suffered the indignities of getting from home and back again on my bicycle.  I have taken to picking the times of day that afford a minimal amount of vehicular traffic when I ride.  That said, those who ride to and from work or school don't have that option.  I can't remember how many recent bicycle hit and run accidents there have been in the Boise area recently but KTVB had a story with all the sites where then have happened lately and it is alarming to say the least. 

I do not think drivers target people on bicycles but I do think bicycle riders are not taking enough due caution to make themselves seen in the early morning, dusk and night times.  Dark clothing and other dark colored items like backpacks don't help motor vehicle drivers see bicyclists at the aforementioned times and can be a problem in the shade provided by all the trees along roads during daylight hours.

When a car hits a bicyclist it can be hard for the driver of a car or truck distinguish from a bump in the road and they keep driving.  Nearly all of the hit and run drivers have come forward and turned themselves into law enforcement and face some pretty nasty charges that are now a   FELONY in nature.  We can only wonder what steps the bicycle riders took to prevent these accidents but making yourself visible is the first step in defensive bicycle riding.

The CALDWELL GUARDIAN has long advocated bicycle riders heed the same approach as pedestrians by riding into oncoming traffic.  At least you have some kind of a chance to get out of the way of a vehicle about to hit you.  The laws for bicycles in Idaho require bicycles to be going with the flow of traffic and for the life of me I can't understand this requirement.  Riding into oncoming traffic may actually prevent bicycle/vehicle accidents.  If you have any insight into this please post your thoughts.  Every year we seem to have a spate of bicycle/vehicle accidents and I don't think they are due to inattentive drivers anymore than bicycle riders not taking a reasonable degree of caution.   One exception are the people who insist on texting while driving and they need to go straight to jail.

Nancolas Not A Good Fit Anymore

I got this photo from a friend and just had to post it on my blog.  I know I said I would not be doing any posts until after the election but this was just too good to pass up. 

Mayor Nancolas has been our Mayor for 16 years and served on the City Council for another 8 years.  Some have suggested he has served so long that it is now time for a vacation.

Early Voting and Sign Season Start Today

Just a quick reminder, early voting starts today October 7, 2013.  Your vote for local candidates carries way more impact than it does for any other election.  All you need is some form of ID and proof you have lived in your residence for 30 days.  The Canyon County Elections office is located at 1102 Chicago Street in Caldwell.  It is directly across the street from the Salvation Army building on Chicago and 10th Avenue.

The last Mayoral Election in Caldwell had a little over 3,800 people make the effort to vote.