Lawrence has
poor leaders, and we get what we deserve. The
poor leaders are not just elected officials, the
voters are poor leaders as well. If we are going
to evaluate the bad performance of our elected
officials, we must also evaluate the poor
performance of the voters who put them into
office. Maybe, just maybe, this will give all of
you a better understanding of why Lawrence is
still unsuccessful, and how we can change that.
What
we Get
The quality of our leaders speaks for itself.
There are millions of dollars unaccounted for in
city hall. Our school committee ignores their own
policies and refuses to have public hearings on
each school budget. The state is constantly
calling our schools underperforming. We have a
Mayor who refuses to comply with state laws and
the city charter. We have a city council that
allows its' president to censor the public by
shutting the microphone off at public
participation when he doesn’t like what
someone says. They also never asked about the tax
bills for three months or expressed any outrage
until Carl Prussing was already out the door.
Is
this leadership?
None of the fundamental principals of our city
government are respected or followed by our
‘leaders’. That is, unless it is
convenient or it benefits them. That’s when
you’ll see Frank Kivell whining that “the
charter is our bible” as he waves it in the
air for dramatic effect. Don’t let him fool
you, your free speech is only important if he
agrees with you. Our
officials have such little respect for your right
to speak that Marcos Devers had to fight for
public participation at a sub-committees meeting.
This is just as much your fault for letting city
leaders get away with this laziness.
Why
does it have to be this way?
In the last election, Marie Gosselin told the
voters she favored the high school at the
Stadium. Alice Baker wanted it in North Lawrence.
When the voters made their choice, the people of
Colonial Heights overwhelming voted against Baker
because of a scandal created by the daily paper.
They were not motivated by what was best for
their neighborhoods. They were motivated by
personalities and a negative newspaper campaign
against Mrs. Baker. The high school issue was
largely ignored.
In other words, you thought the scandal was a
more important than a high school being built
just feet from your homes, because that’s
what the daily paper kept telling you every day.
Now, you the people of colonial heights are
crying about the high school location. Ladies and
gentlemen, the time to cry was during the
election when the politicians actually cared
about what you had to say. You let the daily
paper cloud the issue and you fall for it every
time. They tell you what to be concerned about
and you ignore the important questions. Now, your
feelings on the school are irrelevant. The
politicians can’t get anything from you for
two more years. Your stuck with a high school.
Blame yourself.
How
to make things better?
First of all you need to pay attention to what
candidates and officials are saying, (especially
when it is not an election year). Much more
importantly, you need to listen to what they don’t
say. Take advantage of this precious opportunity
you have here. Patty Dowling will only be around
for (at most) another year and a half. Take this
opportunity to watch her and study her. She is
the master at leading people to believe something
without actually coming out and taking a stand
herself. She governs on the fence. She is someone
to study and learn from. Next year when we elect
another mayor will we have learned from our
mistakes, or are we doomed to repeat them?
The fact that our politicians can get elected
without taking positions on key issues, and keep
getting elected without actually leading us
anywhere is not their fault it’s yours. They
only give you the service you demand from them.
Believe me, when they get a call from 20
constituents on an issue they change their tunes
very quickly, don't they? You saw
them all flip flop on the high school site. It
was almost comical. The Mayor and her school
committee were tripping over each other to be on
the same side as the voters once the public
finally spoke up. If they were true leaders and
convinced that the North site was a better
choice, they would have continued fighting for
the North site. They should have tried until the
very last minute to change people’s minds.
But that’s not what our officials do. Our
officials walk the fence and if no one objects to
their proposals they do what ever they want. They
do not follow a plan and they have no goals for
the city. Their only goal is to keep getting
elected. If they know that staying on the fence
and not making decisions will keep getting them
elected, we will keep getting a city government
that is paralyzed .
It is perfectly evident to me why our elected
officials are motivated by personalities and not
what is best for the neighborhoods. They are just
following the lead of you the voters. When you
make better choices, your leaders will make
better choices. As long as you vote based on who
you “like” or what the latest Tribune
scandal is, we will continue to get
stuck with leaders who do not lead.
The only way to change the motivations of your
elected leaders is to change your motivation when
you vote. Vote for someone you personally dislike
if you agree with their stand on important
issues. Vote against someone of your own
ethnicity if they haven’t produced what they
promised in the last election. The failures of
our elected leaders are the failures of you the
voters. They work for you. Hold them accountable
by being accountable yourself. It’s the only
way to get better performance from them and build
a better city. If you continue to vote based on
personalities and scandals, we will continue to
get stuck with leaders we deserve.
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