Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man

Reminder: 290 and 67. The 290 represents how many U.S. House of Representatives members it takes to override a presidential veto (all Representatives are up for reelection this year). It takes 67 U.S. Senators to override a presidential veto (35 Senators are up for reelection this year with 22 of those being Republicans—the ones we have to concentrate on the most). These numbers are very important this year at the ballot box because it will take this number of votes to help right this vast ship of a country for all of us, not just the billionaire class.

I’m going to shake things up a little bit this week. Rather than concentrate on national issues as I usually do, I’m going to talk about a local concern. Just as we must hold our national leaders accountable, so must we hold our local elected officials accountable.

This past week a local columnist, Shawna Pfeiffer, wrote about a Model City grant for which our city had personally been invited to apply—a minimum of $75 million would be awarded, with a total of $300 million available. The grant would help cover costs and address issues such as recruitment and retention of police officers and similar, equipment, technology, mental health issues, services for victims, and prevention of crimes committed by youths. All major issues identified by residents of our city with statistics to back up the need.

From what I researched, it appears only four cities across the nation will be awarded, but only our city and one other in the state were specifically invited. As she wrote, one would think this would be welcome news. 

But, alas one would then be wrong in that assessment.

According to her article, “Myself and others have reached out to several [officials] and received either dismissive, negatory or barely attentive responses. ‘It’s a national contest.’ Well, I keep hearing that what we are experiencing is a national problem, so we should be able to compete for help on the national stage. One official is working on it, but if others don’t get on board, we are wasting time.”

Our elected leaders, because of what I will always attribute to as ego, don’t seem to believe applying for these funds to be a priority. Because of ego, and this isn’t unique to my city, these funds will most likely go to other cities where their leaders put aside their egos and agendas to come together for the common good of the people they serve. 

I’ve never understood why groups of people, especially those we elect to improve our lives and keep us safe, have such a hard time coming to the table to agree to help people. Help their families. Help their friends. And yes, help themselves politically. Make it make sense.

Does it take hard and deep conversations? Yes. Does it mean coming to common agreement and compromise? Yes. Does it mean complying with all aspects of the grant in terms of monitoring and compliance? Yes. Will the funds be beneficial and possibly a one-time opportunity? Yes. Will our elected officials and community members come together to do their jobs of serving the community? No, sadly.

But, they might if there is enough of a community push to do so. At the local level, because constituencies are fewer in number at the local level, even one or two phone calls, a few postcards, a couple of e-mails, a letter to an editor, and a little bit of “bad” press can go a long way. 

The bottom line is, as it is at the national level, we the voters have the power to influence change. Maybe not right away, but every time you reach out to your elected officials, whether at the local, the state, or the national level, it leaves an impression. It can, and will, over time, shift the thoughts of those we elect because most of them want to remain in office. 

As of today, we still have our voice and our vote. We either use them or we lose them. That choice is ours to make and effect.

So, as I always say, the power lies within us. Glinda the Good Witch said it best, “You’ve always had the power, my dear; you just had to learn it for yourself.”

The following are ways we can stand up to truly follow and rise to the ideals of the creation of our country and what the Constitution actually expects of us.