GF voters like things as they are

In many ways, Tuesday passed like any other day. In the most important way, it wasn't like any other day at all.

Tuesday was Election Day, and the decisions voters made will influence life in their community, state and country for years to come. That's especially true in Grand Forks County, where a number of key positions were up for grabs.

And as results rolled in Tuesday night, voters learned that they'd elected a fascinating group of leaders, a lineup featuring promising newcomers as well as seasoned incumbents.

Speaking of incumbents: While "anti-incumbent fever" swept many regions of the country, Grand Forks City Hall, the Grand Forks County Courthouse and some other local chambers proved to be quarantine zones. Incumbency here generally was an asset, not a handicap -- even before Election Day, when some key incumbents found themselves running unopposed.

So, where is the anti-tax, anti-Big Government passion that animates the tea party movement? Where are the signs of voter discontent?

Not in the races for Grand Forks or Grand Forks County offices, apparently. When voters turn out in November to elect state and U.S. officials, it may be another story.

But on balance, Tuesday's results were a vote of confidence in local leadership, a result that not many political subdivisions across the U.S. share.

So, all three elected incumbents who were running for re-election to the Grand Forks School Board won. In the race for county sheriff, the top two vote-getters are the current chief deputy and a Grand Forks Police Department detective, a result suggesting general satisfaction with local law enforcement.

This notion helps explain Hal Gershman's success, too. The president of the Grand Forks City Council ran unopposed; as a result, he now is the newly re-elected council member from Ward 4.

Ward 6 saw only one candidate: Dana Sande, vice president for business development for the UND Aerospace Foundation. And in Ward 2, the only contested race, Tyrone Grandstrand beat candidate Tim Behm, 321-258.

Neither Grandstrand nor Sande ran on anything close to an anti-tax agenda, as far as we know. In fact, Grandstrand -- who spoke out often as a result of being in a contested race -- openly expressed his sense that Grand Forks taxes are just about right:

"I think we're in an OK spot," he said in a Herald interview a few weeks ago.

"We're a little on the high end, I think, even for just this area. But that's where looking really deep into what's being spent -- not necessarily cutting something, but looking for a cheaper alternative. I think there are a lot of places where we can do that." ...

In short, local voters aren't looking for Big Government, and they're not looking for Small Government. They're looking for Good Government -- and judging by Tuesday's results in Grand Forks County, that's what they feel they've got.