At least that's what voters appeared to say to a number of candidates this election season. Whether it was on the local or national level, a fickle electorate decided that it wanted change, echoing the sentiment that swept President Barack Obama into office last November.

In the Towns of Wawarsing and Mamakating, key incumbents lost their bids for reelection. Ed Jennings, the first-term town supervisor who was elected in 2007, was turned out of office, with the same thing happening to Robert Fiore, the first-term town supervisor in Mamakating. Voters, apparently, saw all they wanted to see and made their displeasure known in a manner befitting a democratic society.

But what of their replacements? Will supervisors-elect Lenny Distel (Wawarsing) and Harold Baird (Mamakating) fare any better than their predecessors? Time will tell. Both certainly have their work cut out for them, as budget problems and declining town revenues threaten to derail even the most modest of agendas. The next two years are unlikely to be easy

. And it's hard to argue with the idea that voters are seeking competence in their local government. And competence — the simple ability to run a town, keep tax increases low, and take care of the inevitable problems that come along — is something that the Republican leadership in the Town of Crawford has demonstrated for the past few years. Taxes have increased, but at a much slower rate than in the adjacent communities. In fact, Crawford's tax hikes are more in line with the Town of Shawangunk, another town run by thrifty local Republicans.

Interestingly, neither Crawford nor Shawangunk sent their respective supervisors packing. This could have something to do with Charles Carnes (Crawford) and John Valk's (Shawangunk) demonstrated ability to get the job done. This competence has made it hard for a Democratic opposition to gain much ground. However, the fact that Crawford Democrats have formed a committee and managed to run a number of candidates for town board and justice seats has to be seen as a good thing. Democracy is always in danger in a one-party situation.

But throwing the baby out with the bathwater isn't an especially good idea either. In Wawarsing, Gil Davis, the one-term incumbent highway superintendent, a man whom many felt has done an exemplary job, was also narrowly defeated in a wave of Democratic victories. His replacement, Tony Paes, will have big shoes to fill.

And, whether you think they were right or wrong, the voters have spoken. If economic times were a bit better, the incumbents in Wawarsing and Mamakating might have fared better. When the economy is in the dumps, voters start looking around for someone to blame. Even the most competent of elected officials will fall if the people are forced to vote their pocketbooks.

And, whether it's Virginia, or New Jersey, or several local communities, voters are uncertain of the future. High unemployment, even higher taxes, and little government accountability are a triumvirate of political landmines around which elected officials from both parties will try to step in the coming years. The voters are certain about one thing, however: they want something different than what they've been seeing. They want change — any change — because they believe that what we're currently doing isn't working. And in many cases, they're absolutely correct.