Political leaders must consider big picture

Don’t ever rely on my prognostications in regard to election outcomes.
With the exception of Laura Nauser, the Columbia City Council is now dominated with single-issue office holders. We are in receipt of the leadership we deserve. Business advocates have long abandoned civic participation at the governmental level.

An overly intrusive press, unappreciative constituents and university liberality are often cited as reasons to decline the public torment of council service. Look at Almeta Crayton. No council member works harder at one-on-one constituent service, nor seeks to improve the lives of others, more than she. Yet a few naysayers have seriously considered recalling her. Apparently they are the conscience of the First Ward.

As a council member, these office holders have a responsibility to the entire community, higher than self-serving single-issue interests. It will be quite intriguing as these smart-growth types begin service with a larger problem on the horizon than development: economic vitality.

Our sales tax revenue growth has remained relatively flat. As we have cultivated a favorable retail environment, the average wage earned in Columbia has dropped by almost $2,000. The manufacturing sector has been ignored, and its contribution to the community is stagnant, if not declining.

Known for providing well-paid jobs, we have not recruited a single new manufacturer since Quaker Oats. Housing costs have long left the “affordable” train station. A customer recently shared with me that her new home in Columbia was 100 square feet smaller and cost $50,000 more than her previous home in Lee’s Summit and offered fewer amenities. This is not a good trend.

Sen. Chuck Graham, along with representatives Judy Baker and Jeff Harris, have allowed political infighting to deprive our community of major life sciences funding, which in itself will be a new incubator industry. Each has traded the best interests of constituents for allegiance to their political parties.

Similar to single-issue city council members, they are more committed to obstruction than problem solving. Graham and Harris’s feathering of their résumés with minority leadership positions has proven poisonous for our community. Filibustering MOHELA or creating a Mizzou Alumni Caucus is no substitute for across-the-aisle collaboration that would jump-start a life science corridor with its heart in Columbia. This kind of investment is Columbia’s future. It will not happen without bipartisan support at the state level or municipal leadership at the local level.

Public financing of our communities at both the local and state levels in reality is always a balancing act. It requires a broad perspective.

Available funds for “needs” are never sufficient. Missouri is very much an “anti tax state.” Columbia is a quite selective “tax community,” not quite “anti tax” but very cautious. As such our local political leaders must take heed of the entire state and the entire community. As Missouri goes, so goes Columbia.

Politicos often commit the fatal error of believing that their election is validation of their credos. On the contrary, it more often indicates a choice of the lesser evil as viewed by voters. As such, elected officials must give great attention to the fundamental purposes of government first and their notions of world order second.

All in all, if we do not tend to the line fences, we should not be surprised when our neighbor has appropriated what we believe to be ours.
The shareholders of the Smithton Land Company set in motion a great development that now stands at a crossroads. The choices we make today will determine the prosperity of our future. Let us study the big picture and choose wisely.