For much of the nation, 2005 will be remembered as the year of the hurricane. No story came anywhere near touching the American soul the way that the overwhelming natural violence did, and the human response that followed, both good and bad.
For Time Magazine, it was a year for activism, from the donating efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gates to the work in alleviating the suffering of AIDS and third world debt by the likes of rock singer Bono.
But reflecting back on our corner of the world, the choice seems obvious, even simple.
For us, this was the Year of the Angry Voter.
We had our share of big stories; none bigger than the end of an agonizing thirteen-year wait as two brothers were convicted in Venango County for the brutal murder of Oil City’s Shauna Howe back in October of 1992.
But a slumbering giant was awakened this year, and that “thud” you heard was the crashing of the collective belief that one vote, one voice doesn’t matter anymore.
In Harrisburg, lawmakers banked on an apathetic and jaded public to pass a 16 % pay raise for themselves in a late night session. They even flaunted their arrogance by finding a way around the state Constitution to grant the raise immediately, without waiting for the next election as is required by law.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the looting.
The voters, fed up with rising taxes and tired of looking across the chasm at the “haves” from the cheap seats, got mad.
They signed petitions and attended rallies.
They threw a state judge off the bench as a warning shot for fat cats trying to get fatter.
Even a swift and marginally contrite effort to repeal the raise couldn’t slow the juggernaut.
Now heading into 2006, the glove has been thrown down:
If you’re a lawmaker who voted for the pay raise, you will be opposed, and you might well be beaten.
But anger can be a tough thing to sustain. Still, look for some interesting elections among representatives this year.
And it doesn’t stop there.
Erie Mayor Rick Filippi, mired in a land deal scandal and stalemated by relentless bickering with City Council, couldn’t even get out of his own party’s primary as an incumbent.
And it doesn’t stop there, either.
Voters got so tired of the shenanigans that two well entrenched members of council went out the door, too, and Council President Jim Thompson survived by his fingernails, the beneficiary of a lack of name recognition from the lone Republican candidate.
It’s easy to forget, to move on, to fall into the routine of grousing about the ills of the world without ever really doing anything about them.
But 2005 may forever be remembered in these parts as the year when voters got “mad as hell and weren’t going to take it anymore.”
Will it last?
We’ll see.
Thanks for reading this year. Here’s hoping you have a safe and happy 2006!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!