In November of 2001, there were 269,710 residents of the county registered to vote. Some 165,391 were registered as Republicans, 67,921 as Democrats, and 36,398 in other designations.

That from the League of Women Voters and the local newspaper.

That includes the population of our only city and county seat, which has sent the only Democrat to the State Legislature, and has the largest concentration of Democrats. And has a Republican mayor anyway.

The little town that I live in is considerably more Republican -- maybe I can get you numbers tomorrow after all the 2-year-olds go home for lunch and a nap. I can tell you this: no one wins a November election who hasn't first won the Republican primary, except once, and that was because of a placement error on the ballot in the primary.

Of our library staff and board, I can think of only one staff member whose politics I don't know, and suspect she's a Democrat (she's from New England). Another staff member is militantly non-political: she's not registered as anything, she doesn't vote, and she doesn't believe in evolution either, so I believe it's a religious thing. (Many religious conservatives in this area consider voting a worldly pursuit of power. Getting them to vote is a big deal for the Far Right, for there are a lot of them.) I'm unsure about only two of the current board members. The rest, including my director, and all the board officers, are registered Republicans.

Of course, I've told you that I am as well, and I've told you why. So take all that for what it's worth.

Regards--
Mary Anne