MANVILLE: When to vote, and when not? It’s confusing!

   We’re confused. This year we’ve learned it’s OK to save the costs of an election for a school district, but not a fire district? And we should trust our legislators to make decisions — except when we don’t like what they decide?
   In January, the Legislature passed and Gov. Christie signed into law a bill that allows school districts to move their elections to November, saving the cost of a separate April election. (Manville took this option.)
   But the same Legislature decided not to eliminate separate elections for fire districts, even though very few voters other than fire fighters and their families come out to vote — like last Saturday in Hillsborough.
   One of the arguments by proponents of eliminating the April school vote was that we have a representative democracy — we elect people we trust to make decisions for us — on most levels of government. We don’t vote on state taxes, or even local government budgets, so why give people the chance to knock down a well-thought-out school budget? Just because it’s many times the tax impact than any other jurisdiction’s?
   But on fire issues, Hillsborough residents have the vote, even though most people only know that our volunteer companies do an excellent job of protection and should be provided with the best resources we can afford to give them. It’s probably fair to say that most residents yield their judgment on fire issues — and that’s likely why they don’t come out, especially from 2 to 9 p.m. on a Saturday in February.
   Then, on the state level, there’s Gov. Christie, who negates the action of the state Legislature and vetoes a bill that would bestow marriage equality on everyone, regardless of sexuality.
   Better the people decide this highly charged social issue at the polls, the governor says. Critics ask: Isn’t this a civil rights issue, with rights to be expanded for a minority? How often in history has the majority done that without explosiveness?
   So why should the governor take it upon himself to tell the Legislature — the people’s representatives — it’s not the right body to decide this issue, when it’s trusted to make so many other decisions?
   Very confusing.