Taking The Vote
Connor Strange
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Tuesday, Nov. 4 brought around the midterm elections, which included ballots for change from Congress to the school board to a very leaky roof.
A regular concern on Waverly residents’ and students’ minds over past months was the $15 million bond issue for the district’s schools. It was passed, meaning District 145 will now have a few million for improvements to its various buildings: a goodbye to the high school’s leaky roof, updated security measures in WHS and renovations to WIS and Eagle Elementary. Even more projects are in store with the issue’s passing. However, its success also means a higher tax rate on the community. It won’t be fun, but they’ve shouldered it to improve the schools.
In the vote for a school board seat, Bruce Sedivy was reelected to the Board of Education over K.C. Rine.
Nebraska as a whole took to the polls with elephantine dreams. The new governor, Pete Ricketts, ran on a promise of cutting unnecessary programs and spending. He lassoed 57.6% of the vote, winning by a wide margin.
Congressman Jeff Fortenberry was reelected to the House of Representatives, rolling over his Democratic opponent with a 30% difference.
Ben Sasse is the brand-spanking-new senator, stepping into the shoes of Mike Johanns. Sasse was called a “rising conservative star” by National Review Magazine, and Nebraska’s voters did their best to prove it.
Unsurprisingly, Republicans took the vote by the horns this time around. And it wasn’t just in Nebraska - in fact, national results were pretty similar.
Across the country, voting wound up largely in favor of the Republican party.
After the dust has settled, both the House and the Senate are now largely Republican, and President Obama probably doesn’t plan on changing his political affiliations halfway through his second term. The partisan divide could lead to an even slower pace in government with regular vetoes and constant bickering.
The man in the Oval Office will likely be at odds pretty regularly with the legislative branch, but that’s always to be expected from the looming partisan divide in D.C. The silver lining of this midterm election is at home, where District 145 schools are getting a much-needed makeover.
