EDITOR’S DESK: Are we involved yet?
What's really boring is to hear people say things like “More people need to get involved.” Or, with the April 5 city
election coming up, “More people need to get out and vote.” Well, sure. And I also like Mom and apple pie.
![]() The point is, for people to get involved, they need to have tangible, personal reasons. And for people to vote, they need to think it makes a difference. That might be the case for the District 1 City Council seat in the coming election. If you take the time to read through the two candidates' responses this issue, it's not hard to detect interesting differences. I'm not sidestepping to an endorsement here. For what that's worth, I'm not sure one will be forthcoming, in part because I think it's safe to say both Scott Hente and Al Brody are intelligent, thoughtful, public-spirited individuals - both retired Air Force officers - and the city is not likely to rot into oblivion should either one get elected. But questions do arise. Is Hente too much of a homebuilder to be sensitive to the impacts of the growth he helps create? Is Brody too much of a social engineer - e.g., seeking ways to take lower-income residents out of cars and put them into mass transit? Has Hente's incumbency given him glasses that are too rosy (in a candidates' forum he expressed the opinion that city affairs are either good or headed there)? Is Brody going too far the other way, scaring us with allegations that the city's infrastructure is "crumbling," as he put it at a forum, with "no way to pay for it"? You decide. You know... Get involved. - K.J. |