I try, as a general rule, to remain fairly neutral in the political arena here. While few would argue that I hold traditionally liberal beliefs, I am actually a moderate Independent, leaning to the left on some things, to the right on others.
I suspect most Americans are similarly inclined to pick the best plans and courses of action proposed by either of the parties, but the polarization of the political arena has so damaged the ability for people to cross party lines for reasons of pragmatism that very few who claim loyalty to one party will publicly admit support of any kind for ideas and potential solutions in the other party.
That's a shame, not to mention a grave disservice to our nation, our community and our fellow citizens. We Americans ought to be seeking the best solutions to our problems and it shouldn't matter whether those solutions were generated on the red or the blue side of the aisle. To summarily dismiss superior approaches to complex problems simply because they arose outside of your party of choice is to show your ignorance, bias and selfishness, something that should have no place in the governance of our great country.
We citizens often forget too that politicians are human and they will break promises, make mistakes and occasionally break the law. This egregious behavior should not be confused, nor lumped together, with the perfectly acceptable and encouraged spirit of American governance, which has wisely been set up by the Founding Fathers to force politicians to achieve consensus by making deals and compromises with the opposition.
Sadly however, most of us have not a clue in the world what it takes to work in the sphere of public administration, and even more of us couldn't tell another what it takes to transform an idea into a plan of action within our government.
Yet, most of us have no shyness in telling others why we're disgusted, disillusioned or ticked off at the perceived lack of action or bad policy implementation by our political leaders, even though we don't have the slightest idea how to fix the problem(s) we're so vociferously complaining about. Still others offer what they feel are common sense solutions to problems but fail to take into account the fact that we're not dealing with a private business and as such, we do not, and most often can not always utilize the same "tool sets" for fixing problems that private industry uses.
So, rather than stir a boiling pot, I try to avoid voicing my political opinions here, since I don't want anyone reading this to tune out the problems of the Homeless simply because they feel I'm either a Democrat or a Republican and as such, want nothing to do with me or my opinions on a particular issue.
I will state here however, that I have not made up my mind who I believe would make the best candidate and placing this piece here in no way indicates Dean is or would be my choice for mayor.
Sunday, 07/08/07
'Tennessean' Endorsement: Dean best choice to lead as mayor
The Tennessean today endorses Karl Dean in the Aug. 2 election for mayor of Nashville.
The newspaper believes Dean is the candidate with the best potential to be an effective leader at a pivotal time for the city. Dean's recognition of the needs of the city and the need for cooperation with Nashville's outlying counties help make him a strong candidate. Nashville especially needs leadership from the mayor's office at this time.
Dean is a relative newcomer to the political scene. While he has a solid background as Metro's director of law and as public defender, an elected position, he has not been a prominent face to many Nashvillians. Dean has had to spend a large amount of energy in his campaign just to become more familiar to voters. But his record of service in those jobs dating back to 1990 make him a knowledgeable public servant, and this newspaper believes he is ready to step forward as mayor.
The field of mayoral candidates is consists of several dedicated people, each of whom shows genuine care for the city and its future. Former U.S. Rep. Bob Clement, perhaps the most prominent name in the field, has brought a thoughtful, serious approach to the race. Vice Mayor Howard Gentry has been an effective voice, especially in pointing to the need to address homelessness and poverty, which often get overlooked. Councilman-at-large David Briley is an articulate voice on many issues. Councilman-at-large Buck Dozier has a long record of service to the city. Two lesser-known candidates on the ballot are Kenneth Eaton, a businessman with strong Nashville roots, and Cheryl Tisdale, an attendance officer in Metro schools.
Nashville is a world-class city, but it did not reach that level by accident. The city is a thriving, attractive, rewarding place to live because of the efforts of past city leaders — on scales large and small. Nashville is a place people want to visit, but also a place where people want to do business and live. However, the city cannot rest on its laurels. And it appears to this newspaper that without energetic leadership, some of the momentum Nashville has built could be in danger. Dean can help Nashville move forward.
Nashville enjoyed a remarkable surge in the 1990s, and those strides were not only related to professional sports and their venues, as some might suggest. The gleaming public library system is just one example of how Nashville improved in other ways. Since the 1990s, the city has focused more on neighborhoods, green space and other quality-of-life issues that may not draw great attention but matter greatly to a community. But the city now faces enormous challenges. There are great demands in education, economic development, public safety, mass transit and diversity.
There are worrisome signs that suggest the city may be in danger of slipping from its level of success or plateauing. Those signs include the more high-profile recent struggles of some professional sports ventures, but the signs exist in more troubling ways such as problems with crime among young people and the shameful school graduation rates. It will take a concerted effort to lift all aspects of life in the city. Dean offers the best shot to address those concerns and to achieve other goals that will make people sit up and notice Nashville anew.
The city's potential is limitless. Its goals should not be modest. While there are great tasks ahead, there are also great opportunities.
Nashville needs a leader who will step out front on controversial issues. Even in areas in which the mayor has a limited amount of power, such as issues related to schools, the mayor should use the office as a bully pulpit to rally the city. A leader does not sit back and observe. Dean has called for more attention to the city's dropout rates. He wants smaller class sizes and more reading specialists for schools and vows the funding to provide them. He recognizes the advances Metro's schools have made in recent years and wants to capitalize on them. He notes that his experience in government gave him a perspective on the number of young people who show up in the criminal justice system.
Dean can also point to his background as public defender and Metro law director to address public-safety issues. His economic development plan gives attention to small businesses, and he sees the need to boost minority-owned business. Dean also sees the importance of a cohesive mass-transit system that includes bus rapid-transit lines, more sidewalks and bicycle lanes. At the same time, he emphasizes the need for energy efficiency and says Metro can be an example through energy-efficient government buildings.
Dean sees the need for regional cooperation. The continued growth in the area demands that Nashville and its neighboring counties find ways to work together, which will certainly be the case on mass transit. Such collaboration might be the area's greatest challenge.
Nashville should not flirt with complacency over its standing among great American cities. The city has a history of producing strong leaders, and it has the opportunity with new leadership to do wonderful things.
It takes skilled, intelligent and focused people to make that happen. This newspaper believes Dean is the best candidate to do the job as mayor.
7.08.2007
The Tennessean Makes Its Choice - Dean for Mayor
I try, as a general rule, to remain fairly neutral in the political arena here. While few would argue that I hold traditionally liberal beliefs, I am actually a moderate Independent, leaning to the left on some things, to the right on others.
I suspect most Americans are similarly inclined to pick the best plans and courses of action proposed by either of the parties, but the polarization of the political arena has so damaged the ability for people to cross party lines for reasons of pragmatism that very few who claim loyalty to one party will publicly admit support of any kind for ideas and potential solutions in the other party.
That's a shame, not to mention a grave disservice to our nation, our community and our fellow citizens. We Americans ought to be seeking the best solutions to our problems and it shouldn't matter whether those solutions were generated on the red or the blue side of the aisle. To summarily dismiss superior approaches to complex problems simply because they arose outside of your party of choice is to show your ignorance, bias and selfishness, something that should have no place in the governance of our great country.
We citizens often forget too that politicians are human and they will break promises, make mistakes and occasionally break the law. This egregious behavior should not be confused, nor lumped together, with the perfectly acceptable and encouraged spirit of American governance, which has wisely been set up by the Founding Fathers to force politicians to achieve consensus by making deals and compromises with the opposition.
Sadly however, most of us have not a clue in the world what it takes to work in the sphere of public administration, and even more of us couldn't tell another what it takes to transform an idea into a plan of action within our government.
Yet, most of us have no shyness in telling others why we're disgusted, disillusioned or ticked off at the perceived lack of action or bad policy implementation by our political leaders, even though we don't have the slightest idea how to fix the problem(s) we're so vociferously complaining about. Still others offer what they feel are common sense solutions to problems but fail to take into account the fact that we're not dealing with a private business and as such, we do not, and most often can not always utilize the same "tool sets" for fixing problems that private industry uses.
So, rather than stir a boiling pot, I try to avoid voicing my political opinions here, since I don't want anyone reading this to tune out the problems of the Homeless simply because they feel I'm either a Democrat or a Republican and as such, want nothing to do with me or my opinions on a particular issue.
I will state here however, that I have not made up my mind who I believe would make the best candidate and placing this piece here in no way indicates Dean is or would be my choice for mayor.
Sunday, 07/08/07
'Tennessean' Endorsement: Dean best choice to lead as mayor
The Tennessean today endorses Karl Dean in the Aug. 2 election for mayor of Nashville.
The newspaper believes Dean is the candidate with the best potential to be an effective leader at a pivotal time for the city. Dean's recognition of the needs of the city and the need for cooperation with Nashville's outlying counties help make him a strong candidate. Nashville especially needs leadership from the mayor's office at this time.
Dean is a relative newcomer to the political scene. While he has a solid background as Metro's director of law and as public defender, an elected position, he has not been a prominent face to many Nashvillians. Dean has had to spend a large amount of energy in his campaign just to become more familiar to voters. But his record of service in those jobs dating back to 1990 make him a knowledgeable public servant, and this newspaper believes he is ready to step forward as mayor.
The field of mayoral candidates is consists of several dedicated people, each of whom shows genuine care for the city and its future. Former U.S. Rep. Bob Clement, perhaps the most prominent name in the field, has brought a thoughtful, serious approach to the race. Vice Mayor Howard Gentry has been an effective voice, especially in pointing to the need to address homelessness and poverty, which often get overlooked. Councilman-at-large David Briley is an articulate voice on many issues. Councilman-at-large Buck Dozier has a long record of service to the city. Two lesser-known candidates on the ballot are Kenneth Eaton, a businessman with strong Nashville roots, and Cheryl Tisdale, an attendance officer in Metro schools.
Nashville is a world-class city, but it did not reach that level by accident. The city is a thriving, attractive, rewarding place to live because of the efforts of past city leaders — on scales large and small. Nashville is a place people want to visit, but also a place where people want to do business and live. However, the city cannot rest on its laurels. And it appears to this newspaper that without energetic leadership, some of the momentum Nashville has built could be in danger. Dean can help Nashville move forward.
Nashville enjoyed a remarkable surge in the 1990s, and those strides were not only related to professional sports and their venues, as some might suggest. The gleaming public library system is just one example of how Nashville improved in other ways. Since the 1990s, the city has focused more on neighborhoods, green space and other quality-of-life issues that may not draw great attention but matter greatly to a community. But the city now faces enormous challenges. There are great demands in education, economic development, public safety, mass transit and diversity.
There are worrisome signs that suggest the city may be in danger of slipping from its level of success or plateauing. Those signs include the more high-profile recent struggles of some professional sports ventures, but the signs exist in more troubling ways such as problems with crime among young people and the shameful school graduation rates. It will take a concerted effort to lift all aspects of life in the city. Dean offers the best shot to address those concerns and to achieve other goals that will make people sit up and notice Nashville anew.
The city's potential is limitless. Its goals should not be modest. While there are great tasks ahead, there are also great opportunities.
Nashville needs a leader who will step out front on controversial issues. Even in areas in which the mayor has a limited amount of power, such as issues related to schools, the mayor should use the office as a bully pulpit to rally the city. A leader does not sit back and observe. Dean has called for more attention to the city's dropout rates. He wants smaller class sizes and more reading specialists for schools and vows the funding to provide them. He recognizes the advances Metro's schools have made in recent years and wants to capitalize on them. He notes that his experience in government gave him a perspective on the number of young people who show up in the criminal justice system.
Dean can also point to his background as public defender and Metro law director to address public-safety issues. His economic development plan gives attention to small businesses, and he sees the need to boost minority-owned business. Dean also sees the importance of a cohesive mass-transit system that includes bus rapid-transit lines, more sidewalks and bicycle lanes. At the same time, he emphasizes the need for energy efficiency and says Metro can be an example through energy-efficient government buildings.
Dean sees the need for regional cooperation. The continued growth in the area demands that Nashville and its neighboring counties find ways to work together, which will certainly be the case on mass transit. Such collaboration might be the area's greatest challenge.
Nashville should not flirt with complacency over its standing among great American cities. The city has a history of producing strong leaders, and it has the opportunity with new leadership to do wonderful things.
It takes skilled, intelligent and focused people to make that happen. This newspaper believes Dean is the best candidate to do the job as mayor.
Smiling does a body good
