We hear a great many people say they are dissatisfied with city government and now, that the city's election is over and done with, we know what to think of them.

They are full of beans.

Because the "masses" did not do the single simplest thing one can do in a democracy last week. They did not show up to vote.

Let's look a little at the numbers in this election.

We should say at the outset, we agree with the voters' decisions and, in fact, they matched our own endorsements. We may have some disagreements on the issues, with the current city commission, but overall the job being done is a good one.

But to hear the sturm und drang emanating from some Marshall citizens, the populace is in an uproar. The results of Saturday's election show a far different story.

Of the 589 people who actually bothered to vote in the two contested races in the city, 404 of them voted to keep the status quo, that is more than two-thirds of all who voted. We would not call that major dissatisfaction.

But the biggest telling point is the number of people who bothered to vote at all.

Almost everyone who made it to polls did so in early voting in Marshall. During the 12-hour period the polls were open on election day, only 75 people made it to the polls.

That's about one voter entering the polls every 10 minutes. Poll workers could have read a good book in all the time they merely sat and waited for someone to cast a ballot.

A great deal of the supposed dissatisfaction had been aimed at Mayor Buddy Power, who had both voted against a measure to bring term limits to a vote — an action we agreed with — and voted for awarding a bid for new police and fire stations to a Louisiana company — an action that we at least question.

This outpouring of anger at the mayor produced exactly 80 votes for his opponent, Jackie Baker — though she did not attempt to politicize it. Power won with 72 percent of the vote.

Currently an effort exists to place term limits on the ballot by way of petition. We predicted some time ago the effort would be successful and that term limits would pass.

But this demonstration of just how little people care — though they speak loudly — makes us rethink that position. We are no longer so sure citizens will even be willing to sign their name to a piece of paper.

One thing we are certain of, many of those who do sign probably haven't bothered to vote in a while.

Many pieces are important to make a democracy work and voting is not even the most important — that would be running for office — but it is among the easiet.

So the next time someone complains to you about the quality of their city government you need not listen to them too closely. They are most likely just full of beans.