Only 39 percent of Durham's eligible voters turned out on a drizzly election day in November. But I bet 100 percent of Durham's voters will cast paper or electronic ballots for their preferred retailers before December 25, even if we get the nastiest weather ever.

While the participation rates vary between our November and December elections, one principle remains the same: Our quality of life depends on voters being well informed.

What does that mean? Just as someone who voted for Bush twice may be experiencing buyer's remorse, you might well ask yourself: "Am I getting the right thing for my family, but buying it in the wrong place for my hometown?"

If all of your shopping takes place at national chains, it might dampen your Christmas spirit to learn that of every $100 you spend, all but 14 bucks has left Durham, much of it swelling the pockets of corporate board members and shareholders. These folks aren't shouldering our local tax burden; instead they treat Durham as a colony to fleece.

On the other hand, nearly a dozen studies show that for every $100 you spend at locally owned businesses, as many as 45 to 68 of your dollars stay in Durham, depending on the type of business. That's 31 to 54 percent more of your $100 building a better Durham.

Some of you may have a credit card that gives you a small rebate on purchases. You could think of buying locally as a way to have a virtual credit card that pays everyone in Durham a 31 to 54 percent rebate, but without the paperwork or the spam. Instead you get:

* more local jobs

* better customer service

* a growing tax base (to keep your tax rates low) and,

* a network of people who know your face if not your name and can help you out in a pinch.

I haven't used this column to endorse political candidates, but today I'll use it to endorse economic ones. You may not be able to use this list for all your Christmas shopping needs -- unless you're excited about getting a set of tires -- but hey, you'll be voting again after the 25th, so keep this list handy.

(These are just a few of the many great local businesses in Durham.)

For work and pleasure I spend a lot of my money at locally owned garden shops and nurseries like Red Mill, Kiefer, Architectural Trees and our neighborhood garden center: Stone Bros. and Byrd where Patsy can help you choose plants, Merrill can hook you up with a fountain or mower, Amos can load your mulch and the owner, George, can sell you a slice of hoop cheese while he answers your questions about lawns.

Between the two of us, my wife is the one with taste in clothing (unless you count jeans and t-shirts as tasteful), and her favorite rejoinder to a compliment on how she dresses is to explain how her sweater, pants, skirt, whathaveyou only cost a couple of bucks at the thrift store Pennies for Change. This shop also has the advantage of accepting donations that fit her clothes closet mantra: "new clothes in, old clothes out."

For groceries, aside from a few trips to Whole Foods (organic) and Kroger (union), we mostly avoid the national chains by shopping at the Durham Food Co-op, King's Red & White (where the cashiers might call you "sugar") and the Durham Farmers' Market, which functions as the city's public square. The winter market will operate from December through March in the Central Park School gymnasium. Come April, it will open for hungry voters at a new polling place with a classy metal roof on Foster Street.

We're not dogmatic about shopping locally, but we do get tires at Ingold's or Durham Tire, lumber at Talbert's Building Supply, hardware at Public Hardware, bird feeders and birdhouses at The Outdoor Bird Co., toys at The Playhouse, books, cards and magazines at the Regulator Bookshop (help them celebrate their 30th birthday this weekend), gifts at Zola Craft Gallery, photo gear at Camera Works and videos at Avid Video. We keep money for our personal and business accounts at Mechanics & Farmers' Bank, Self-Help Credit Union and Cardinal State Bank where the people we deal with actually know us by name.

So when it comes to Christmas shopping, vote early and often if you must. But as you make your shopping lists, think about giving the gift that keeps on giving by spending a few of your votes with local candidates. We could all use the rebates.