One great feature of trying to maintain a web log is that, over time, you accumulate a lot of thoughts. Two years ago, I would not have guessed that the biggest theme in my web log history would turn out to be democracy. I recently searched through the DaytonOS archive and found these articles. I’m rereading these articles and finding it valuable to refresh my thinking.

1. The Ascending Issue In Our Democracy Is Democracy Itself, September 17, 2007
2. Our Democracy Must Be Revived — If We Hope To Achieve The Dreams of Our Wisest and Best, November 28, 2007
3. The Montgomery Democrats Decide to Suppress Democracy — Just Like the Republicans, December 14, 2007
4. For Our Future’s Sake, We Must Transform Our System of Elitism To a System of Democracy, December 20, 2007
5. Grassroots Dayton: “Sowing The Seeds Of Democracy”, April 11, 2008
6. The Transcendent Challenge Dayton Must Solve In Order To Be Assured Of A Great Future, April 24, 2008
7. How Grassroots Dayton Can Build Democracy By Building Community, May 13, 2008
8. Non-Partisan Action Is Needed To Strengthen And Support Our Local Democracy, May 28, 2008
9. Let’s Bring Back Lincoln Douglas Style Debates To Today’s Campaigns, September 9, 2008
10. Showing Leadership On Reapportionment Presents Governor Strickland With Big Opportunity, November 10, 2008
11. In Montgomery County, Once Again, Gerrymandering Triumphs Over Democracy, November 10, 2008
12. Mike Turner Is A Bum, For Our Democracy’s Sake, Let’s Throw The Bum Out, October 16, 2008
13. John Goodlad Says Public Must Agree On “The Democratic Purpose Of Public Schooling”, December 16, 2008
14. Congressman Mike Turner’s Failure To Explain His “No” Vote Is More Evidence Our Democracy Is In Deep Trouble, January 29, 2009
15. How Can The System Known As The United States Be Made To Work To Provide “Liberty and Justice For All”?, February 5, 2009
16. Our Democracy Is Failing And It’s All Your Fault — So, Buy My Book, March 14, 2009
17. John Glenn, In 1974, As Un-Endorsed Candidate, Denied Admission To Montgomery County Democratic HQ, February 20, 2009
18. President Obama Must Make This Wake-Up Call To Action: Our System Of Democracy Has Failed Us, February 27, 2009
19. Mark Owens Says Most Montgomery Dems Approve The Party’s Suppression Of Primary Participation, April 8, 2009
20. The “Yes” Vote: Only 14% Of Registered Voters Needed In Kettering In Order For Antidemocratic Forces To Win, May 6, 2009
21. Advice For Gary Leitzell And David Esrati: Make The Campaign All About Democracy, System Structure, May 7, 2009
22. Our Community’s Success Depends On Whether Residents Can Be Persuaded To Behave Like Citizens, May 12, 2009
23. Kettering School Board Members Failed In Their Responsibility To Be Guardians Of “Local Control”, May 26, 2009
24. Local School Board Races Offer Grassroot Activist Opportunity — Grassroots Dayton Makes Plans, June 19, 2009
25. We Are The Ones To Make A Better Place, July 7, 2009
26. Vitalizing Our Democracy Is Advanced — If We Can Make Building Democracy An Entrepreneurial Opportunity, July 10, 2009
27. The Kettering School Board’s Biggest Challenge Is To Gain Public Support For Transformation, September 10, 2009
28. Kettering Public Education In The Year 2022: How Do We Get To A Great Future?, September 25, 2009
29. Incumbents’ Refusal To Participate In Public Forum Reveals The Weak State Of Our Democracy, October 29, 2009

I came in dead last. But 4481 voters in the Kettering School Board race voted for me. I figure I got about 30% of those voters who voted for school board candidates. 30% sounds a lot better than the 14% reported yesterday.

Yesterday I reported these results from the Kettering School Board election that show what percentage of votes cast that each candidate received. These percentage numbers are deceptively low.

JULIE ANN GILMORE 8858 votes or 27.31%
GEORGE H. BAYLESS 7577 votes or 23.36%
JIM BROWN 5811 votes or 17.92%
FRANK C. MAUS 5706 votes or 17.59%
MIKE BOCK 4481 votes or 13.82%

Julie and George have a much more solid mandate than the 27% and 23% that is indicated. I figure it is at least 57% and 48%, respectively.

Each voter was allowed to vote for as many as three candidates. If all 17,822 voters had made three choices, there would have been 53,466 votes cast. As it was only 32,433 votes were cast, so there was an under vote of 21,033 votes. An under vote happened when a voter chose zero candidates (an under vote of 3), one candidate (an under vote of 2), or two candidates (an under vote of 1).

It’s impossible to know how many voters voted for zero board of education candidates — but I think it’s safe to say the number is 10% or more. I’m going with 12% as a conservative estimate. So if 88% of the voters actually chose any school board candidate then the number of school board voters was 15,683.

These percentages are more impressive — and more accurate. They show the percentage of voters, who voted for any board candidate, who chose each candidate.

JULIE ANN GILMORE 8858 votes or 57%
GEORGE H. BAYLESS 7577 votes or 48%
JIM BROWN 5811 votes or 37%
FRANK C. MAUS 5706 votes or 36%
MIKE BOCK 4481 votes or 29%

This adds up to 207% — meaning, according to this calculation, the average voter who voted chose 2 candidates.

So, I think it is fair to say that about 30% of Kettering voters who made a choice for school board, chose me. About 3 out of 10. Not nearly enough to win, but, not bad.

In Kettering’s elections, two challengers won. Jim Brown will replace Frank Maus on the School Board and Ashley Webb will replace Frank Spolrich on the City Council.  A couple of my predictions came true — Julie Gilmore was the top vote getter for the School Board, and Amy Schrimpf was the top vote getter for the City Council.

In the Kettering School Board election, turnout at 43.3% was more than expected — 17,822 people voted, out of 41,090 possible. The top three vote getters were elected. One challenger, Jim Brown, won by a small margin — 105 votes — and will replace Frank Maus on the board. I was 1230 votes behind Mr. Brown. But, still, I can take some solace in the fact that 4481 voters wanted me to be on the board. 

I wrote here: “The best guess is that about 15,000 of Kettering’s 40,000 voters will actually vote. It may be that even if I come in dead last, I still be able to say, in the middle of an argument, things like — ‘Look, 4000 Kettering voters think I’m right.'” I would like to know who the 4481 voters are who voted for me, and I’d be interested to know why they voted for me.

I came in second in my own precinct, with 157 votes — well behind Ms Gilmore who had 191 votes.

1. JULIE ANN GILMORE 8858 votes or 27.31%
2. GEORGE H. BAYLESS 7577 votes or 23.36%
3. JIM BROWN 5811 votes or 17.92%
4. FRANK C. MAUS 5706 votes or 17.59%
5. MIKE BOCK 4481 votes or 13.82%

For the Kettering – Council-at-Large, there were 17,792 voters who participated out of 40,571 possible. (The number is smaller than the Kettering Board election, because the school district includes some precincts not in the city council’s juristiction.) The top two vote getters were elected. Ashley Webb made a strong showing, well ahead of the third place finisher, incumbent, Frank Spolrich.

1. AMY SCHRIMPF 7967 votes or 28.13%
2. ASHLEY WEBB 6504 votes or 22.96%
3. FRANK SPOLRICH 4676 votes or 16.51%
4. ED SMITH 4448 votes or 15.70%
5. DEBBIE WAKER 3611 votes or 12.75%
6. TIMOTHY MARK ALLISON 1118 votes or 3.95%

Here are the addresses of the candidates for Kettering School Board

• George H. Bayless 2422 S Patterson Blvd 45409
• Michael C. Bock 3808 LeFevre Dr. 45429
• James A. Brown 5361 Oakbend Cir. 45440
• Julie Ann Gilmore 4171 Brookdale Dr Kettering 45429
• Frank C. Maus 181 Greendale Dr Kettering 45429

Here are the addresses of the candidates for Kettering City Council

• Timothy Mark Allison 2067 Lakewood Dr Apt. A Kettering 45420
• Amy Schrimpf 4573 James Madison Trail N. Kettering 45440
• Edward M. Smith 532 Judith Dr. Kettering 45429
• Frank Spolrich 750 Ingersol Dr Kettering 45429
• Debbie Waker 4271 Maricarr Dr Kettering 45429