There’s really nothing like last-minute research of city candidates to get you all jaded and bitter, is there?
Last fall I figure that after being in Philly for five years, it didn’t look like I was going to up and move at any point, so I should probably start voting in something other than just presidential elections. I’m woefully ignorant of how state and city governments work, so I rely on the folks at The Committee of Seventy to be extremely helpful about not only the basic, logistical things (such as the location of my polling place), but the meatier stuff too (helpful spreadsheet of where each councilman candidate stacks up on an ethics survey). Really, the accessibility, facility, and the overall aesthetic quality of the site should be matched, if not surpassed, by the actual Philadelphia government websites, which are amateurish and outrageously opaque in my opinion. I’ve found the CoS to be marvelous when it comes to demystifying labyrinthine processes, and the last time I punched a ballot, I felt I had truly earned it, as I’d done my homework.
If there’s anyone of you who’s in Philadelphia and planning to vote tomorrow, I’d be interested in who you’re rooting for and why!
