As an alumnus just recently graduated this May, I understand how easy it is for Simpson students to get caught up in the Simpson bubble. You have classes, homework, friends to hang out with, eating good and bad campus food and then sleep, only to repeat it the next day. There is so much going on just within Simpson, that a lot of other things do not even register on the to do list radar.

An important date: election for mayor

On Nov. 5, however, a very important election is being held in Indianola. The current mayor of Indianola will not be running for reelection, leaving an open spot to be filled.

As many of you have heard Jill Johnson, the Executive Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Simpson, is running for the position. This gives the Simpson community the opportunity to get involved in city politics by voting in the election on Nov. 5.

Why you should vote for Johnson

I wholeheartedly believe that you should all take the time to vote for Jill Johnson for mayor.

I’m not asking you to vote for Johnson because she works at Simpson, that would be a misguided vote. You should vote for Johnson because she is exactly what Indianola needs to lead them into a brighter and more positive future.

When Johnson first got to Simpson, there was not a lot of publicity or talk about Simpson College. Many had never heard of Simpson when asked where it was located, and there was not a lot going on with Simpson’s website or social media sites.

Within two years Johnson has turned this scenario completely around. Simpson has ads all across Iowa, the social media websites are picking up speed and there is an ad campaign taking place that many have heard of.

We are gaining students from all across the U.S., and people are beginning to know what Simpson is about.

This is exactly what Indianola needs to bring in more businesses, have more partnerships and get more people to move here to increase the economic growth of the town.

If you care about Simpson, you should care about what’s going on in Indianola

So why should you care what Indianola needs? You may vote in your hometown, and you don’t necessarily care about the town politics of Indianola. That may be so, but in my opinion if you go to Simpson College, you’re already calling Indianola home.

The two are directly connected. Both thrive because of the other, and both would be less without the other.

There is a small group of people in Indianola who believe that Simpson students should not have the right to vote in Indianola because we either do not care, know about the issues, or we just should not have the right to. These statements are simply not true!

Voting is your way to show that as Simpson students, we care about Indianola’s future.

So on Nov. 5 vote for Jill Johnson, because she will lead Indianola to exactly where we need to be.