| So, what are you really running for? |
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| Written by Rob Bennett | |
| Monday, 10 September 2007 | |
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My focus as a city councilman is on being an effective representative for the people who elected me. People often think that our representative form of government as established by the founding fathers means that the politicians have to do what the people tell them to do. That is not representative government. That is delegate government. That is where you delegate someone with specific instructions, like to revise the Articles of Confederation, and send them to do exactly and only what the group that sent them authorized them to do. They are not representatives; they are messengers with no authority to do anything other than what was directed. The founders didn't think that was a good idea, so they implemented a representative form of government, guaranteed to every state in the U.S. Constitution as a RIGHT, and thus we in West Jordan have it too.
A representative is sent to REPRESENT the people who elected him or her, but to use their best judgement in making the best choices on behalf of their people. They are supposed to be the voluntary sacrifical offering of the people who select one from among themselves every four years (hopefully one of the best), who voluntarily sacrifices time away from family, time studying issues, time reading materials, applying wisdom and intellect, to take the place of all the rest of us who do not have the time to equally follow all the relavent details that need to be weighed for each vote. We send them so we don't each have to go to each council meeting and vote ourselves - all 100,000 of us. If they represent us well and are still willing, we may elect them again. If they do not represent us well or if they are ready to lay the burden of being the people's offering down, another is chosen to take it up. Thus the cycle should operate where the best and brightest serve a time in civic duty to do the best they can to make it better for the rest of us.
Will we agree with every vote? Are we not all different from each other? We of course differ about many things and especially in politics, we have many opinions. But the rule of the majority applies both in the voters and on the city council. Whatever the majority decide as a group is the direction the rest must abide by. When the voters speak in who they choose, they invest in the person the right for four years to act with integrity on their behalf and in their interest. At the end of that term, they can reapply for the job or let someone else step up and do their best. Our job as voters is to winnow the best person who captures the closest perspective to ours in making many decisions since council members must make hundreds if not thousands of votes over their careers, most of which the average citizen does not care or worry about but must be decided so they can have a functioning, effective government.
What am I running for? To the people who consider me a delegate and should only vote what the majority of people who contact me say I should do, I am a failure. To those who consider me their representative, I put forth that I have made it my life's goal to be aware of their needs, their issues, their cares and concerns and make decisions based on rational, reasonable thought processes to advance their cause. I admit I will not always vote according to the squeakiest wheel - sometimes, the squeaky wheel only has its own needs at heart and is not focused on what happens when that wheel gets attention, other resources and attention is diverted from some other part of the vehicle. I am charged to make sure that the WHOLE city and our district specifically are given the best opportunity to improve our quality of life as government is responsible to do. I am running to represent the average person living in my district - not giving preferred treatment to any group or interest, but treating all equally and with respect. There is no part of my district that I have not received calls from that I have responded to and seen to their needs as best I can. That is what I offer to the residents of my district - someone who will advocate for them and decide fairly and without bias what their city government can do to best serve them.
What do you stand for? I have provided much of the answer to this question above. I believe that every citizen has the right to petition their government when they feel a wrong has been done and to have petitions carefully considered and acted on appropriately. I believe that the needs of the whole (i.e. the entire city) should not be abandoned by the needs of the few (special interests or individuals) - this means everyone is treated the same; fairly and without prejudice. I believe that the taxypayers deserve the maximum return for each dollar spent by government and that a fair and unbiased accounting needs to be made to the citizens on a regular basis. Finally, I believe in providing the highest quality of service for our citizens by hiring the most capable employees, paying them wages appropriate to their experience and quality, and making do with what we have as much as possible so as to not provide undue burdens on the people from the city's portion of taxes that are collected (not having control over what other government entities collect.)
What do you want to accomplish? I want to work with 6 other council members to collectively increase the standard of living and quality of life for the 100,000 residents of West Jordan. To do this, we need businesses to help provide for our needs, roads to help us transport us to where we need to go, services to help us keep order and ensure our safety, and to provide for our basic necessities of life (water, sewer, garbage collection, etc.) I have also built relationships with other cities, the county and the state's leaders that will help us leverage those relationships to the benefit of our people. Those who learn how to work together can find ways to work to mutual advantage and multiply efforts for more than one group of people. Those who dig in their heels and are immovable in their positions find that their effectiveness and ability to provide for the needs of their citizens are compromised. I will never compromise on integrity or core principles, but I can compromise on means and priorities so the needs of the citizens remain paramount.
Why do you want to represent us? I have dedicated this season of my life to public service. I have come to love West Jordan with all my heart and want to see it rise to take the place it is destined to take among the great cities of our state. I feel that I have been given talents, abilities, intelligence, a hard work ethic, courage to stand up for ALL of those I represent, and my understanding of how government works so those traits can benefit our citizens better than any who are running against me. I have nothing against any of my opponents, but the things I have indicated in this article allow for differentiation between the candidates and will allow a voter to decide who they want to support. The experience I have is not in a related field, but is in exactly what a city councilman needs to have. I do not want to do special favors for business interests or developers or real estate; I have no desire to not help them either. I want the needs of the RESIDENTS to come first and not help business or other interests to control what they want to happen in the city if it is not in the highest, best interest of the citizens. I do not think our government is broken. I have seen and can provide ample evidence, as can the eyes of all who drive through West Jordan, of all the good that is happening here and is only getting better. I want to continue this pattern - fixing what needs attention, keeping the citizens' needs first, and staying the course to where we ultimately want to be. After that, I am ready to hand the baton off to someone else who will place the needs of THE PEOPLE first and not their own or those who fund their campaigns' agendas. |
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