Speaking Out: What did the voters say? Messages underlie election results
Many times I have complimented Columbia/Boone County voters for their conscientious voting habits. Wow! The messages from voters in the April 8 elections seem absolutely clear.
The ballot choices can be lumped into three categories:
1. Growth and development, which continue to occupy a dominant portion of the local conversation.
2. Open communication and public accountability, which pertain to the vote on the Boone County Fire Protection District and the Columbia Board of Education.
3. Fundamental governmental services (waste-water management).
Voters demonstrated their ability to clearly understand the issues, sort out the meat from the bones and make credible choices. For those who blame the media for shaping voter preferences: It just ain’t so.
Our community is large on one hand (well over 100,000 throughout the county) but small on the other. To the far corners of the county and in between, local politics can be debated with anyone you bump into or meet for the first time. Plenty of news is available in all a manner of dissemination, but the real lines of communication may be described as primitive. We simply talk to each other—a lot. Hundreds of volunteers serve on boards, commissions, councils and committees. Interaction among all is deep and widespread. That is why it befuddles me that community leaders such as Phyllis Chase, Darin Preis and Steve Paulsell wonder what the public is saying. Steve Paulsell, a capable and talented leader, provided Chase and Preis with the perfect example of how heavy-handed, closed leadership fails despite other widespread success. Paulsell has more eyes looking over his shoulder with two new board members not because fire and emergency services were poorly delivered but because his office was a mess. Columbia Public Schools leadership is now in the spotlight.
Even though the grapevine clearly indicated the proposed tax levy increase was in trouble, CPS has not learned anything from the Boone County Commission, the Columbia City Council or the Fire District Board about open, fundamental, honest communication. Local taxpayers will not be fed s**t and convinced it is chocolate pie.
Threats, excuses and manipulation raise the hackles of any critically thinking individual. Principle matters. We know that a single rejection of a levy increase is not akin to Armageddon for our schools. We understand as parents that children become adults when they see the fruits of their choices. In the same vein, public entities grow stronger as they see the fruits of their choices.
It is rather curious that both waste-water proposals passed in similar percentages that the school levy failed. Both sewer authorities worked together and thoroughly presented their case. They did not begin projects they were unable to finish and then ask voters to approve more funding. You may be aggravated that new federal guidelines make up a sizable portion of the need for more funds. This was not an excuse to piggy-back other projects onto it but was simply a part of the rate increase request. Sewer utilities and school districts are quite different in how they’re run. However, wise use of public dollars, along with full and open communication, is never a poor investment. This does not cost a penny. It is simply a commitment to the citizens served.
Finally, Paul Sturtz holds the dubious distinction of bumping the first black councilwoman from office in the name of “smart growth.” Almeta Crayton is the sole individual who brought humanity to the Columbia City Council. This begs the question of who will remind the council that they are servants of the citizens and not special-interest agendas. Sturtz is likable and well intentioned. However, he is naive to the point of arrogant if he believes that by defeating the only black representative on the city council he can “heal the racial divide.” Green initiatives and sustainable economies mean nothing to those who struggle with day-to-day survival. Balance in a community is imperative. Will the narcotic advocates of Smart Growth recognize that our future is hobbled with imbalanced approaches to growth management? For example, will they reject a proposed acute-care hospital at Alfred Street and Old U.S. 63?
I asked Mayor Hindman on the evening of the election whether he was prepared to become one the conservative members of the city council. His response was only a reflective frown. We all wonder where we go from here.