If not us, then who? If not now, then when?
Please vote FOR the tax increase to fix Conway’s roads.
A special election is underway in Conway to approve a 3/8ths of a cent sales tax increase. Every bit of the additional funds from this temporary tax will go toward rebuilding and repairing our city streets.
If you’ve ever driven around town and muttered, “They need to fix these roads,” then a vote for this tax will ensure our city streets are repaired or rebuilt sooner rather than later.
I’m not going to lie — sometimes it’s hard to get motivated to vote in a local, special election in an off year, even when the condition of our roads is on the line. We live in a growing community that gets things done, so it’s easy to sit this one out and assume it’ll pass.
Except when it doesn’t.
The Faulkner County TEA Party announced they are working with an outside group to influence the outcome of this election. This group wants this initiative to fail just to make a point about taxation and “wasteful government spending,” a national movement that began during President Obama’s first term. They are running an organized, grassroots campaign to get out the “no” vote.
Their efforts are paying off. Signs against the tax are all over town, and the current voter turnout does not represent the average age or the diversity of Conway’s residents. That’s deliberate.
I respect differences of opinion regarding whether or not to support this tax increase. But many of the reasons given why voters should oppose it are based on half-truths and outright lies pushed by people who don’t even live, work, or spend money here. Outside groups are not invested in our city’s future; they just want to make a point.
We can’t let Conway be their pawn.
With the political environment in Washington as polarizing and gridlocked as it is, it’s tempting to become jaded and convince ourselves that elections don’t matter. That our vote doesn’t count.
We may not be able to directly affect what goes on in Washington or who sits in the Oval Office. But we damn sure have a say into what happens here.
This election may be about roads, but it’s also about Conway’s future and who determines what that looks like.
Let it be us.
The last day for early voting is Monday, November 13, at the Courthouse from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The election is Tuesday, November 14, from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the McGee Center (72034) and the Don Owen Sports Center (72032).
