The People’s Choice: A sign in support of John Dennis stands in front of a West Lafayette home.

Incumbent John Dennis defeats John Polles in the West Lafayette mayoral race.

Republican incumbent John Dennis won the West Lafayette mayoral race last week in a landslide victory, capturing over 70 percent of the vote. The voter turnout, however, was startlingly low–only 11,816 out of 45,067 registered voters (that’s 26.2%) showed up at the polls to cast their vote. Dennis claims in the Journal and Courier to have won the race by promoting his undisputed performance during his first four years in office, and by targeting high school seniors and Purdue students. A small portion of those 11,816 people are some of our very own West Side students.

Senior Christin Keen is one of these new voters. Christin turned eighteen in May, and said, “I was excited to vote because I’m eighteen and I can now.” Others shared a similar sentiment. Sarah Burns, another senior, commented on being able to vote for the first time in this election saying, “I wanted to be a part of something that actually affects me.”

The result of the election especially affects student drivers. One project Dennis has proposed is a restoration of some of the major city roads, including Happy Hollow Road and Salisbury Street. These are roads traveled by many West Side students on a daily basis. He also has a plan to spark economic development in the city by properly analyzing the market and giving developers incentive to invest in property.

One problem for those just turning eighteen is an unawareness of how to take part in an election. Senior Jake Weiss turned eighteen months ago, but said he didn’t vote because “I didn’t register in time and I didn’t know I needed to register.” Considering that part of Dennis’ platform includes getting young citizens involved in the community, perhaps before the next election, information on becoming legally eligible to vote will be made more widely available. This would increase the currently low voter turnout.

John Dennis’s Goals:

– revamp major city roads

– involve youth/Purdue student

– analyze city markets to spur economic development