Gomers: What's going wrong

TROUBLING SIGN? If absentee and early voting are an accurate predictor, turnout in Nov. 5 city elections in Cedar Rapid and Linn County will be paltry. As of last Wednesday, the county auditor reported only 588 voters had requested absentee ballots with only 287 returned or voted early at the auditor's office. With a heavy slate of contested races in Cedar Rapids, Marion and some other cities, and the proposed extension of the local-option sales tax also on the ballot in county communities, it makes us wonder what's going on? Let's hope voter interest picks up by the time Election Day arrives.

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NO NEED: Just before the federal government shutdown standoff ended, a Democratic hopeful for governor, Bob Krause, called on Gov. Terry Branstad to call the Legislature into special session to deal with the potential effects of a continued stalemate on our state. A needless political maneuver, it appears. The governor, thankfully, did not agree, noting that in the short

term, the state was handling things well despite some cuts in federal funding sources. Two days later, Congress finally forged an agreement, and the federal shutdown ended.

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