Washington’s promises never quite make it to 97002

I live in 97002, out here in Aurora, and I am tired of Washington talking like it already showed up. They keep making promises to communities like ours and then acting surprised when the trucks never arrive. You hear the speeches. You wait. Then you wait some more.

It is the same loop. Broadband for every last farmhouse. Infrastructure that will finally catch us up. Money that is supposed to land in Marion County and somehow still feels like it is circling D.C. Ziply Fiber got $8.3 million to run fiber to a thousand Marion County locations, with a finish line of September 2026. That is a real number. It is also still a promise until somebody actually knocks on my door.

I am not asking for a parade. I just want the thing they already announced. Small places like this get the press release and the big places get the crew. That is the part that sticks. You sit through another election cycle listening to people who will never drive Highway 99E tell you they have your back.

This is my problem because I live here. It stays my problem when you stay home on election day and treat the whole thing like weather. You do not have to like anybody. You do have to show up, because the people who never vote are the ones who make it easiest for Washington to forget we exist.

Vote. Staying home does not make the promises come true. It just makes the next round of them cheaper to ignore.