Shame on you El Paso! Actually, shame on 88% of registered voters who did not bother to vote on May 5. What a dismal display of civic responsibility. With plenty of time for early voting,  there is no excuse for skirting your civic responsibility. Twenty-two percent of you took the time to exercise your vote, what happened to the rest of you? Too busy sleeping in? Too busy playing games? Or maybe you figured that someone else will take care of the problem. El Paso, you showed your true colors. You complain and complain about how the politicians don’t care about you and how they ignore your needs. The politicians did their job, they ran for office. You failed yours, you didn’t vote.

El Paso, maybe you should take a lesson from your neighbors to the south. During the Mexican presidential elections of 2000, 63.97% of Mexicans voted nationwide. In Chihuahua, 55% of the registered voters cast their votes for those presidential elections. During the local elections of 1997, 55% of Chihuahuan registered voters cast their votes.

So next time you are complaining to your friends in the neighborhood hang-out, or contemplating writing a letter to the editor about how bad the politicians are, take a deep breath and ask yourself, did you vote? If the answer is No, put away your pencil and shut your mouth.

On the other hand, if you did vote, write-away, but remember that El Paso’ 88% mediocrity will always be your stumbling block.

El Paso, you have a chance to redeem yourself. The City Run-off elections is May 26. Yes, it is Memorial Day weekend, you still do not have an excuse, early voting is from May 16 to the 22nd. Show us that El Paso is ready to mature by taking the time to vote. If not, don’t complain because it is your mediocrity that creates the city you live in.