Well, we have what appears to be a very close finish in the Mayor and Zone 1 commission races, with vote advantage to Adam Barringer and Judy Reiker; respectively, with congratulations to both for victories.
From the vote count it looks more than 6,000 city voters were interested enough in the outcome to go out and vote, and that bodes well for the future. What this really means, in my view, is we still have a very divided city, at least in terms of trust and expectations of elected officials.
On the positive side, it seems to show that both sides appear to want change. One group sided with the incumbents, based upon their tenure and experience as well expressions of “I have now seen what you want, know how to get it, and will do better next time, so give me a another term.” In the case of the challengers, we see an expectation of change and movement forward to correct the problems not addressed by the incumbents, such as growth, economic development and city spending control.
In either case, I am convinced the message is out with the special interests and old ways of doing business in favor of moving forward to re-vitalize, or as I have characterized it, reinvent our fine city to be more fiscally prudent and economic development focused.
That leaves us, the voters, with a challenger for at least the next two years and that is to keep our elected representatives focused on the future and not the past, ensuring the best government with the least cost, that services the entire populace well.
The mandate of the public will be a tall order for the elected ones and we will need to help keep them on the road to that future by staying engaged, educated about city issues and, and ready to voice our opinions and expectations at commission meetings, through e-mails and letters, as well as one on one with the elected, when needed. The first major and difficult issue on the table will be to resolve the Anglers Club lease issue in a reasonable and fair manner that ensures the interests of the voters and taxpayers that just put them in office.
The resolution of that issue should provide us with an indication of what to expect in the future and help us to assess whether we have really turned the corner in politics in NSB or merely reverted to the old ways of doing business.
I am hopefully looking forward and have high expectations for Adam and Judy as they tackle the long list of problems in NSB. So stand by for the action over the next couple of weeks. In the mean time, thanks to all for your turnout and for exercising the most basic of citizens rights in a democracy; the individual right to vote.
Talk with you later.