Political decisions are based on individual core principles that should be inviolate and not subject to compromise. Our reaction to issues, things politicians like to have us concentrate on, should be directly tied to our core values, the issue decisions we make and the people we elect should be a positive reflection of our principles. It’s time to stop accepting candidates that require us to “hold our nose” and “vote for the lesser of evils.” If a candidate does not reflect your principles, how could they ever possibly represent you?

The values you hold are the key. If you believe our constitutions are living documents, to be continuously interpreted to reflect the concerns of the day (liberal/progressive values), then you want to elect a person who approaches their government responsibilities in that manner.

If you are convinced the founding fathers intended government have little or no role in our everyday lives (libertarian values), your representative should reflect those minimalist views.

If you believe that the constitutions, as written, should be followed with specific limits on each level of government (conservative values), your choice should reflect those values.

If you think you have a value system that lies somewhere in between these three clearly defined positions, you probably need to do some more work. The bottom line is you really can’t make sound political decisions unless you know what you stand for.

This November we will cast ballots to elect our representatives to fill “non-partisan” offices. While the office may be “non-partisan”, the individuals who fill those offices are not. The political parties use these school board, port commission, water district and similar offices as “farm club” positions for their future party standouts. Non-partisan elections allow candidates to seek office without carrying the “baggage” of a political party name. Candidates don’t have to answer for past performance in party activities or “fess up” to their adherence to party platforms. What we get, most often, is the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing. But we don’t have to put up with that nonsense. We can actually indicate our true preference for who and what we want to represent us.

Your ballot is your entry to the wonderful world of selecting your representative. Candidates deserve some credit for running. It takes a fair amount of courage (or just being out of a job with nothing to do) to run for election. There is a commitment of time, money and effort on the candidate’s part. That, however, should not be sufficient reason for any of us to vote for any candidate.

In local non-partisan races, there is no reason to accept any candidate who does not reflect your core values. Electing “the lesser of evils” simply means potentially less action by government that is contrary to your values. At the same time, demonstrating protest by not voting is of little value because of normally low voter turnout. We can and should let our actual desires and pleasure about candidates be clearly expressed in our ballots.

In her novel of government without limit, Ayn Rand created a hero in John Gault who refused to succumb to government mandate and pressure. Gault was that lone individual who refused to “go along to get along” with policies that were contrary to his core values. Gault was a man for the times in the novel and may well be a man for our times today. Gault was a man of principle.

I am suggesting and recommending to each voter, regardless of core values, to not vote for any candidate who does not clearly reflect your values. Instead, I recommend you use a write-in vote to express your dissatisfaction with the choices available. When the number of write-in votes exceeds the number of votes for a candidate, the message sent will be very clear. Since a real name is required for the Auditor to count and report the write in vote, I suggest we all use John Gault as our protest write-in choice. Together let’s make the question “Who is John Gault?” have new and special meaning in Kitsap.

Jack Hamilton can be reached at gradiver@wavecable.com.