[speaker001:] well well Pat have did you vote in the last election
[speaker002:] most assuredly
[speaker001:] oh you did
[speaker002:] yes ma'am I've voted in every major election since I turned twenty one
[speaker001:] oh that's great well why do you think people don't
[speaker002:] don't always vote for somebody I sometimes vote against somebody
[speaker001:] that makes sense too
[speaker002:] I think that a lot of it is uh I know that my late husband was simply indifferent he didn't feel like he had any say there was too many people too many other votes for example uh you know he'd say well look you and I see different sides of the fence if I go vote you'll cancel my vote I said I sure will he said so I just won't vote I said then mine counts because you could cancel mine too
[speaker001:] and then does  yeah I think I think that's a lot of people just indifferent I know that I've moved around a lot in the past um three years I've had three different addresses each time I change jurisdictions or whatever
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh sure
[speaker001:] so I just haven't because I mean graduate school or whatever so I haven't kept track of it I did when I lived steadily in one community I always I voted
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] but this past time I didn't well actually I voted it for the presidential election but then I didn't vote uh I guess in the two year for uh some legislators and things and
[speaker002:] uh-huh well characteristically in some in the local elections
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] typically those people who vote are those who feel very strongly about an issue
[speaker001:] right uh-huh
[speaker002:] if I do not feel very strongly about an issue then I see no reason to go vote
[speaker001:] uh-huh right yeah and that's probably one reason why I voted in the the last election but not really this one because this one really didn't matter that much
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker001:] yeah it's probably true
[speaker002:] well of course of course listening to government the instructors you'll find out that everything matters but then you could go crazy worrying about everything
[speaker001:] well you know they also say that most people vote their local politics that that local is far much more important than uh national issues
[speaker002:] well that's the way you get to national and that's the way you make changes about your neighborhood
[speaker001:] uh-huh right oh I definitely think so
[speaker002:] uh I know that I have been involved in preparing and in in uh carrying out a lot of the local petitions that take place even something so simple as getting a street light
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] in between lights on the end of the block but it makes a big difference when it's the difference in having a child run over in the dark and uh
[speaker001:] right uh-huh yeah that's true yeah
[speaker002:] it took a close call to wake us up and cause us to take that kind of action and that's completely unnecessary In another particular case they were trying to
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] put in a um senior citizen's home
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] in in an area very near our neighborhood but if you just cross that major street the character of the neighborhood changes and it's less savory
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] okay and that I was just very I felt very strongly about that those people simply did not have access to safety to security and they were at risk
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and it was for elderly people who lived alone and they were going to put a cluster of of houses there for them but even clustering together for the elderly does not ensure safety
[speaker001:] no most now that's true
[speaker002:] and all it all it did was to in my judgment make them easier targets uh-huh yeah easier targets and so we we did get a petition together and we very strongly resisted it and
[speaker001:] prepare them to be victims yes yeah
[speaker002:] and it was placed in a actually it was placed clear closer to my neighborhood but it was on the right side of the street
[speaker001:] uh-huh right side of the tracks yeah
[speaker002:] and uh it it I think that they're they're much more comfortable there
[speaker001:] uh-huh did they
[speaker002:] uh I haven't seen too much crime in my neighborhood although we have a good crime watch program but it's it's very serious just across the street
[speaker001:] uh-huh yeah did um did you think I know that Texas's last gubernatorial uh election probably brought out a lot of voters
[speaker002:] well
[speaker001:] did that did that seem to because that really that got national attention national attention I guess having a woman governor running against a man and whatever
[speaker002:] well no I don't think it had to do to with woman running against man I think it had to do with dirt running against dirtier
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and that's it it was a dirty election people were calling each other uh names and every bit of the trash it was a it was a dirty campaign
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] it was a dirty mud slinging campaign
[speaker001:] well you know what's funny up here uh I live I see a lot of Virginia news and I guess uh
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] Senator Robb and Governor Wilder are active right here and they have some type of wire tapping problem going on and the people in Virginia are complaining see Robb is married to Lynda Bird Johnson
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker001:] and the people in Virginia are complaining that he is he's using Texas politics in Virginia and they're really complaining big time because they said that we don't have that type of trashy politics up here like they do in Texas all the time
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] so you you guys were getting
[speaker002:] well of course now that's not all the time we've had some pretty
[speaker001:] yeah you were getting slandered I think
[speaker002:] we were having some pretty healthy uh campaigns that were based on issues there for two or three of the gubernatorial races but I historically Texas has had
[speaker001:] uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker002:] mud and muddier campaigns I mean it's just I think that eventually you know the better people have sensibilities and they vote on those people who are least likely to do damage unfortunately that's not always the way it should be
[speaker001:] yeah uh-huh
[speaker002:] you don't want to vote for the person who is least likely to do damage you want to do the one who can do the most good
[speaker001:] do the most good yeah that's true
[speaker002:] and uh
[speaker001:] I guess that's why I know that um I'm previously from Pennsylvania and Dick Thornburg who's now the attorney general is going to run for senator because uh John Heinz a senator from Pennsylvania died in an airplane crash
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker001:] and I know that they're expecting a gigantic turn out to landslide Dick Thornburg into as into the senate
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] because they don't like the governor the governor's political appointee or whatever and they're almost expecting landslide
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker001:] out uh turn out right now for for that election
[speaker002:] okay so you so you see that's very negative motivation isn't it
[speaker001:] uh-huh yeah
[speaker002:] isn't that too bad we really could use a little positive motivation hey we think this guy can really make some changes and we're going to support him that was true in a lot of cases in in a couple of the older sixties campaigns
[speaker001:] uh-huh yeah uh-huh
[speaker002:] uh
[speaker001:] what in Texas was that when you
[speaker002:] no I'm talking about national campaigns yeah uh even when John Kennedy was elected there were so many strikes against him but there were people who believed he could make a difference now
[speaker001:] that's that's true yeah right
[speaker002:] that's not to say what has transpired or what really was I'm saying that's how it was perceived
[speaker001:] uh-huh that's right that's perception that's true
[speaker002:] and uh
[speaker001:] because the those were big political that was a big um turn out election
[speaker002:] oh yeah absolutely and and it was people going to vote for I think more than those who voted against
[speaker001:] uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker002:] I know I know that in my own uh area of people whom I knew and how they were going to vote they didn't go to vote against uh a politician as they did a little bit later when Nixon was running they went to vote against the less of lesser of the two evils in certain cases
[speaker001:] uh-huh yeah
[speaker002:] but I think that one was one that you had some very strong feelings among people and they voted their convictions
[speaker001:] uh-huh uh-huh well I think that also happened with Ronald Reagan
[speaker002:] absolutely you're right
[speaker001:] he was he was landslided in and people really saw that was
[speaker002:] um-hum