It is a time of renewal. A time to participate in the democratic process. One of the things that makes the United States of America the greatest country in the free world is the right to self govern. We freely choose our representatives during each election, and that is never more important than in your local elections. These are your friends, neighbors and fellow community members that have boldly placed their name on the ballot and declared they are willing to go to work to represent your values and vision for the kind of place you want to live in.
We have an obligation to support these folks with our educated vote. It is not easy to decide to give up your free time to attend evening meetings, spend countless hours researching complex issues, and make yourself a target when something goes wrong in the process. In todays connected society where keyboard warriors (often with a cloaked identity) are prepared to offer their ill-informed expertise on every matter before the elected body, a thick skin is a requirement for anyone willing to run for office. But they need to run for the right reasons.
Just as the candidates have an obligation to ask themselves some key questions about their motivation for running for office, voters must ask themselves how prepared they are to go to the polls. Casting a vote for someone because of name familiarity, party affiliation, or any one of a variety of arbitrary reasons without knowing if the candidate really represents your values can lead to disastrous results for your town. In our local county in just the past year, we have seen some examples of local governments gone wrong with costly and disruptive consequences. Elected officials who feel they are no longer accountable to the people that voted them in office is a recipe for bad governance that will take time to heal and repair. Time that could and should have been spent working toward strategic results in delivering better government services for all stakeholders.
Before we head to the polls this year, whether that is through absentee voting or in person, we have a duty to ourselves, our neighbors, our Community, and our wallets to get to know who we are voting for. Reach out to those running, and ask some tough questions about the things that matter to you. What is your hot button issue: better recreational opportunities? increased emergency response services? lower taxes? better customer service from your local city hall? How will the candidates you are going to cast your vote for respond to your questions?
Please make sure to understand the big picture with those you support, a person may be on the right side of one issue but wrong about everything else. Getting a new bike path may be a poor tradeoff for disruptive government on everything else for the remainder of their term. Local government is not a spectator sport – you have to be involved and provide direction to your elected officials. Without residents direction, too often we see government that is tone deaf to their community. Remember, we get the government we deserve, and that is especially true on the local level.