We have been harping on voter turnout recently after the dismal primary election attendance. We realize on writing about that issue that the folks we are talking to probably do go out and vote. What we hope to accomplish is that you, our reader, get stirred up enough that you encourage your family or neighbors to vote in the Aug. 10 runoff election.

If you have paid attention to the national news on the whatever major networks still care enough to run national news, you have heard of the city of Bell, Calif.

Bell is a suburb of Los Angeles. Its 2.5 square miles has a population of 36,664, mostly blue collar workers, and it was incorporated in 2005.

It seems that when the town voted to become a city, the city manager presented a charter to be voted on that provided, among other things, that he be paid $800,000 a year. His police chief makes over $400,000 a year. His city council members also make over $400,000 a year, plus the best benefits in the country.

Recently, some folks in the town woke up and realized how much they were paying these crooks. Now there is outrage and threats of prosecution and even that old liberal warhorse Jerry Brown, who is the Attorney General of California and is running for governor, is getting involved.

No one ever accused old Jerry of not smelling a good political opportunity when he saw it.

You might wonder why this happened to the good hard working folks of Bell.

There are two reasons: first, only 400 voters came out and voted for the city’s new charter, which allowed this travesty, and second, Bell does not have a community newspaper of its own that watches out for such shenanigans with elected officials.

Please vote on August 10, even if you have to drag your relatives and friends to the polls with you.