The Winds of Change Are Beginning to Blow

A Long Hot Summer Ends

September always feels like a quick month of dramatic change. We begin the month in short sleeves and end the month in light jackets. Our average high temperature drops 10 degrees throughout the month, and we will lose nearly an hour and fifteen minutes of sunlight this month. That’s dramatic.

And there are other dramatic shifts that are beginning to happen as well. This past summer, I have had no fewer than five people express a real and earnest desire to serve on City Council here in Troy, and even a couple of other folks from other communities have dropped a comment here and there as well.

These individuals are all working on their own timetables, but I wouldn’t be completely surprised to see announcements come out this month of people that are taking that step to serve their community through an elected office and start their own campaigns. I can say that the characteristics that most of these will-be candidates have is that they are relative;y young, and they are women. They are ready to make a community that is more responsive and more attentive to their generation.

And as the creator of Civic Capacity, I could not be happier.

The whole thrust of this publication is to inform, inspire and involve people in the decisions that are shaping their hometown. Civic Capacity not only tells of what those decisions are, but why those decisions were made and the process and context in which those decisions exist. I believe it is important to know those things if you want to fully participate in the community that you call home.

I have had these candidates tell me that the work being done here at Civic Capacity has lifted a veil of sorts and gave them a strong dose of inspiration. The decisions being made in local government, when we take away the jargon and the acronyms, and take time to explain the process, aren’t as difficult or challenging as one might think. There is no great knowledge or skill that is needed to sit at the table where decisions are being made. Just a desire to make one’s community a better place to live and earn the trust of voters.

Local communities throughout the country are starving for local leadership, Troy is no exception. Each election cycle in our community, our local voters are not given many choices, they are given uncontested elections that keep on feeding the local bureaucracy what it wants, a stable cadre of individuals that will go along to get along. The bureaucracy values these candidates’ deference rather than any ideas they might put forward.

And while there is nothing wrong with cooperation, there is also nothing wrong with competition. In fact, there are sitting council members right now who have never had to go through a contested election to earn their seat on council. Can we honestly say our community is well served by that outcome?

Contested elections demand candidates work hard to earn the trust of the voters. Candidates are called upon to discuss their ideas and their vision, and have those presented in the political marketplace. Contested campaigns test the organizational and decision-making skills of candidates, giving voters an opportunity to see how these men and women behave. Candidates in contested elections have the choice to take the high road or the low road in their campaigns by either talking about their ideas or their opponent. All of these attributes are demonstrated during a contested campaign, and voters get to make decisions on who will best represent their needs and do the job well in local government with dignity and respect.

Contested elections are needed and necessary, it is how iron sharpens iron, and in the end the entire community wins.

A New Way to Support This Work

Our readers and subscribers have been asking for a new way to support the work being done here at Civic Capacity! Some of our readers do not like the idea of having to sign up for another subscription service. Some of our subscribers occasionally want to give more support through a one-time transaction.

Civic Capacity is partnering with “Buy Me A Coffee” to give our readers, subscribers and friends an opportunity to give one-time support to Civic Capacity. Personally, I don’t like coffee, but I will never turn down a nice iced tea. If you feel compelled to support this effort, just click the button below.

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