Kingsland News

Election by plurality has its drawbacks Published: Friday, November 20, 2009 10:00 AM EST With 12 candidates seeking office for St. Marys City Council earlier this month, it's clear that interest in local politics is high. Voters were fortunate to have three or four candidates from which to choose in all but one of the races. The unfortunate downside of multiple candidates running for office is that the city's plurality voting system can result in elected candidates who receive less than 50 percent of the vote. All three of Camden's cities use this form of election, which simply means that the candidate receiving the most votes wins the race. In elections that focus on a particular campaign issue, plurality also serves to split the votes of people who support the same cause. This came into play this year when many St. Marys candidates focused on the relocation of the airport as a central issue. In most of the city's races, the candidates who opposed relocation collectively received more votes than those who supported it. A majority election, such as those held by the state and county, would have defined more clearly where voters stood on the issues and the candidates. Under this system, runoff elections are held to ensure that a majority of voters supports the winning candidate. While a runoff municipal election costs in the neighborhood of $8,000, this is a relatively small amount of money considering that the elected officials will serve their respective cities for four-year terms. It is better for the community and the winning candidate when a majority of voters supports that elected official through what can often be rough political terrain. It also serves the public interest when voters feel that election results reflect the wishes of the people.

Determining the best plan for benefits isn't easy for some Medicare beneficiaries.

At 86-years-old, Claude Strickland is proving that it's never to late to look for a new business opportunity.

Veterans Day observances will begin today and continue through Wednesday in Southeast Georgia.

Camden County businessman Fairley Cisco wants to stand trial alone and somewhere other than Southeast Georgia on federal charges accusing him and four others of a multimillion-dollar fuel fraud and conspiring to bribe state officials.

The Camden County Commission will consider options to resolve the overcrowded conditions at the county jail at its meeting Tuesday night.

Early voting is being held for city elections throughout the state until Oct. 30. But in some instances, it may not be in the municipality where residents would normally cast their votes.

Eberhard Sopp has watched neighboring business owners come and go since he opened his antiques and furniture restoration shop downtown 13 years ago.

While plenty of other countries don't provide very much protection to anonymous commenters online, US courts have time and time and time and time again found that it's important to protect the rights of anonymous speech online.

The controversial, community-activist organization ACORN won't be doing any more business with the state of Georgia after Gov.

Two of the people elected to represent the First Coast are speaking out about health care reform.

A Washington, D.C., priest has been elected to lead the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia.

A federal grand jury has returned a 17-count indictment against the former owner of three Cisco Travel Plaza locations in Camden County and four other people connected to the business alleging they overcharged customers by at least $7 million.

At least 1,200 Gulf War veterans across the country have been mistakenly notified by the Veterans Administration that they suffer from a fatal neurological disease.

After months of waiting, Kinston citizens heard the U.S. Justice Department's views on non-partisan voting this week.

One state regulator is trying to find out why there are more people interested in selling solar power than there are people willing to pay extra to buy it.

Some doctors in Georgia are our heroes because they're offering folks screenings, which could save their lives.

Well you might want to check this out. Soon our debt will be greater than our income. Year Gross Debt in Billions [10] as % of GDP 1910 2.6 n/a

1920 25.9 n/a.

1930 16.2 n/a.

1940 43.0 52.4.

1950 257.4 94.1.

1960 290.5 56.1.

1970 380.9 37.6.

1980 909.0 33.3.

1990 3,206.3 55.9.

2000 5,628.7 58.0.

2001 5,769.9 57.4.

2002 6,198.4 59.7.

2003 6,760.0 62.5.

2004 7,354.7 64.0.

2005 7,905.3 64.6.

2006 8,451.4 64.9.

2007 8,950.7 65.5.

2008 9,985.8 70.2.

2009 (est.) 12,867.5 90.4.

2010 (est.) 14,456.3 98.1.

2011 (est.) 15,673.9 101.1.

2012 (est.) 16,565.7 100.6.

2013 (est.) 17,440.2 99.7.

2014 (est.) 18,350.0 99.9.

As of 2007, the debt of the United States ranked as the 22nd-largest in the world as a percentage of GDP. (Source, Wikipedia)

According to Investorguide.com, the average taxpayer pays $949 on health and $72 on general government, $2430 on National Defense, $1934 on Medicare, $2949 on Social Security, $3 on energy to the government.