Wednesday, November 30, 2011

They're Just Words

Small town politics is not all it’s cracked up to be.  Neither is trying to hold those in those offices accountable for their actions.  Just recently it was pointed out to me that my words could be used against others, that they can be acerbic or they can be thought provoking.  The last two I can live with, the former not so much.  Happenings in our little borough can be as happy as a resident realizing a career goal and being hired as a full time officer, or as down and dirty as the council race that concluded just this past month.  Wonderful occurrences like neighbors looking out for each other, or working against each other out of spite.   When these things happen especially the ones that are negative or prove to be negative they make me angry for a moment and I may write about them.  I may hold an elected official to the fact that they are working for the people not against them and that he or she needs to remember that.  I may be surprised and displeased at the actions of someone and mention things that correspond to my own experiences, but that does not mean that I don’t admire them for fighting the good fight. 
 When I go to the polls I vote for the person who most matches my thoughts and ideals and sometimes I have to make a compromise.  If there is work to be done I will work with anyone for the good of the town and it doesn’t matter if I disagree with you on one issue because on another you may have great insights and fantastic ideas, just as I in your thoughts are about 15 degrees right of center when we disagree or even fight.  I don’t hate anyone…..ok well there are a few, but no one I know personally and I will work with just about anyone.  But as even my friends will tell you I will call you on what I consider to be either inappropriate or in my eyes plain wrong.  However, using that trait that I have to hurt others either personally or professionally is not what I am all about nor is it something I would expect of people I know, friends, colleagues or working acquaintances.  If anyone has been personally harmed or taken to task because I said my piece then I am truly sorry.  I chose my words carefully so that they should not be taken out of context, nor used as a weapon and I apologize if anyone saw fit to do exactly those things to anyone else.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Integrity

      Integrity means- adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.  Unfortunately in the race for Downingtown Borough Council integrity seems to be in short supply.  When the candidates were announced for the three open seats on borough council this coming term I was excited to see such young, new faces wanting to help govern the town that I live in.  I thought that this would be an opportunity to bring a unique perspective and a fresh new attitude about politics as usual.  However, that changed on Saturday when a “letter” was mailed out to residents of the East End of town about each of the candidates which was if nothing else a desperate last minute attempt to sway voters (see below).  The letter shamefully puts more credence on degrees and endorsements than on service and character.  It states that one of the candidates is a Downingtown High School graduate, yet his children attend a private Charter School.  In one of the columns it is stated that two of the candidates care about D’town yet the other is funded by a political action committee.  How that has anything to do with how much a person cares about their community; I must have missed that memo.  I personally want a candidate that listens and is not waiting to answer the question I did not ask to hear their own voice.   The letter states that one candidate is the best one PAC can buy yet the others are endorsed by old school Downingtown who have run the town like it has always been run and has gotten us to the place that we are.  I don’t know about anyone else but I would like to see the “old boys” of Downingtown given the rest that they deserve and bring in new fresh blood that can help hold taxes at a minimum, balance a budget and create a more business friendly town.  Founding ad hoc groups that do little if anything and being members of homeowners associations don’t prepare anyone for office, but serving the community by volunteering your time on committees and commissions and taking the time to know who lives here and what their visions of Downingtown are is the way to influence voters in my book.


     The backroom politics that have emerged because of the desperation and fear leading up to the election on Tuesday has seriously disappointed me, angered me and made me ashamed to say that I live in Downingtown.  We should set ourselves apart when it comes to elections and maintaining the integrity of the town instead of getting down and dirty and displaying the kind of base backbiting politics that got many old time politicians elected and then indicted.


     I can’t tell you who to vote for, but I hope that you will take a look at the photo posted below and remember that if we want integrity in office it starts on the campaign trail.