Things are ramping up in the national political scene. As the presidential candidates spar over a few town hall meeting votes in New Hampshire, or over the undecided caucus goer's votes in Iowa, we are inundated by the information that is available. On the other hand, in the words of Robert Plant - lots of people talkin', few of them know... People seem to be saying a lot but nothing really ever gets said. Have you noticed this? It's one of the most frustrating things about the national election process. Candidates run the risk of offending some person by stating what they truly think, so they turn to offending each other and saying the vanilla statements - the 10 second sound bites - that they think we want to hear. How refreshing would it be to hear someone say what they really think!
Enter local politics. On this level, things are real. You want to know what our City is going to be like? Want to have a say? Want to affect how the developers are able to operate in our City? All of this is possible. Our City Council members are very accessible - many of you know them already - and are our neighbors. I have seen City Council meetings hinge on the comments of one interested citizen. You really do have the chance to make a difference in our community. That's what makes communities great - the level of interaction and participation. But I have written about this before...
The problem is when our well-intentioned City Council members don't hear from you. How can they know what you think if you don't tell them? Developers speak with City Council members on a regular basis, which is their right as players in the development of the City. But it is also vitally important that they hear from all of us, because we have the responsibility to share our thoughts as to where the City ought to be.
I love City Council and Planning and Zoning Meetings. They are principally the reason I decided to get into this vocation in the first place. The first meeting I went to was regarding a parcel that a developer wanted to access right behind some older homes in an established neighborhood. An elderly woman whose home would have been directly affected by the placement of many town homes and the attendant traffic stood and spoke against the developers plans. She did not prevail, and she now has the homes and traffic in her back yard. BUT SHE HAD THE CHANCE TO SAY IT - AND SHE DID! That's what makes America great. Not our president and not the federal government. Its these local scale decision making sessions where people can come and make a difference.
She made a difference in my life.
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