2016 is election year and it seems like it is the talk all over town. Everyone is wondering, will we have another Democratic president or will we have a Republican president this time?  

It may seem like we still have a long way to go before the election hits, but time is going by fast. The primary election is coming up in June while the general election is also nearing in November.

It is important to know who you will vote for, however, what are your thoughts on how the election is being managed? Do you think the debates are serving their purpose of promoting each candidate's platforms or are they just another source that the candidates use to talk bad about each other and play the finger-pointing game?

Residents want a candidate who will not marginalize them as well as meet their needs. When asked for their thoughts on the debates and if they were helpful to the voters as a way of getting to know the candidates better, one resident, John Diaz said that he doesn’t like to watch the debates anymore because “the majority of the time is spent on tearing the other opponents down and I don’t think politics should be that way.”  

Some residents seemed frustrated by the candidates’ attitudes towards their community. One concerned resident, Consuelo Garcia said, “I don’t know what I will do if Trump is president. He is trying to kick us out of our country, calling us criminals and I am afraid for my family’s well being.”  

Another resident Ernest King said, “I know Sanders is a decent guy and that he genuinely wants to fix what is left of our economy; however, when he responded to a Black Live Matter protester with ‘all lives matter,’ I knew then that he doesn’t understand the racial struggle we are enduring.”  

A young resident, Michelle Sanchez, also voiced concern about Clinton saying, “I like Hilary, don’t get me wrong; however, I don’t like the email scandal she is involved in. The makes me feel like I can’t trust her and that’s not the type of person I want for president.”  

When asked if they liked the way the election process was going so far, residents had mixed feelings about it.  Oscar Wright, another local resident, said, “So far I think everything is going well. We’re nearing the end of the primaries and I am feeling pretty good about it.”

When asked why he feels good about the election, he responded, “Well, I feel that each candidate has a well thought out strategy for promoting their platforms. I don’t want to say that I agree with their platforms, but I can honestly say they’re all doing a good job of selling it to the public.”

Another resident, Ana Nguyen, said, “I am not too sure I like how it is turning out. Tensions are running really high and we’re already starting to see violent outbreaks at rallies.”  

Angela Morales said, “Tensions are getting high and I do feel that as a society we are becoming divided more and more each day. I don’t like it at all. I feel like we’re going back to the times of the Civil Rights era.” 

Everyone has different concerns they want addressed. Will we see more violent outbreaks? Will the parties continue to be polarized or will we finally reach common ground? We will have to see what the rest of the election has in store. 

Melissa Solis is graduating from Loyola Marymount University this year with a BA in Political Science. She currently works at Immigration Secretarial Services.