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# Editor’s Memo: The Meaning of Politician
February 23 2017
Written by Ken Draper.
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CITYWATCH TODAY—My dictionary describes a politician as ‘somebody whose main political motive is self-advancement and whose methods are often unscrupulous.’ It finds politicians synonymous with schemers … ‘somebody who manipulates relationships …’
There was a time when we looked for public servants we could respect. We called them ‘statesmen’. My dictionary describes a statesman as a ‘senior politician … who is widely respected for integrity and impartial concern for the public good.’ That bar seems out of reach for today’s politicians. Hard to know what anyone really stands for these days. What a pol believes in more often than not has to do with which way the wind is blowing. What he/she can say or do that will help with ‘self-advancement.’ They’re all gamers. Playing the system. How much can I get away with sets the ethical boundaries.
Skipping out on debates is an example of political gaming. **John Schwada** writes about it in Today’s CityWatch. He wants the Ethics Commission to step up and do its job. His suggestion: No debate appearance, no matching funds. His logic: matching funds are taxpayer’s dollars. If the candidate doesn’t want to face the taxpayers, he/she isn’t entitled to that taxpayer’s bucks. Check it out. Let me know what you think.
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One of the four things the Charter created neighborhood councils to do is advise the Mayor on his budget. Your neighborhood council can do that directly or it can participate with the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates … place representatives on the committee, go to BA meetings and offer your thoughts, forward your advice to the BA for their use or … attend a Regional Budget Day even this coming Saturday and tell them personally what you think the Mayor should do with his budget. (Keep it clean.)
**Jack Humphreville** writes about the City’s budget issues and provides Budget Day meeting locations … in Today’s CityWatch. Give it a try. Give me some feedback. That’s what neighborhood councils were created to do. Provide a voice for their community at City Hall. How your neighbors want their city dollars spent seems like one of those moments where NCs can do what they were created to do. What do you think?
Ken Draper-Editor, CityWatch
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