Opinion
Our Friends in (Local) Government
I was again reminded of something at the Mayor’s Association Breakfast Monday as I listened to local politicians talk about working together. People in St. Clair County are quite lucky when it comes to their elected officials.
Now, by no means am I saying that everything they do is right or even justified. In fact, like many other people, I’ve seen some boneheaded decisions made in my three years covering news in this county.
But I have noticed one thing: elected officials here are willing to work things out and compromise. That’s something that the big dogs in Washington don’t come close to doing.
There have been problems here, don’t get me wrong. I’ve seen some local politicians at each other’s throat, so-to-speak. But in the end, they were able to work things out.
The healthcare debate that’s been going on in Washington since last year gets on my nerves like a bad case of chicken pox. First you have one side who wants a system where everyone has healthcare. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
Then the other side points out that by doing so, everything healthcare has worked so hard to become would be pushed out by a huge, government run system. Will they compromise and come to a middle ground? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way.
Last weekend when the snow was expected and the ice came instead, it was local government officials who were on the front lines communicating with each other to make sure that things would work out for the best for all involved.
That is government in action, not government inaction, like you see on your TV on the nightly news coming out of Washington.
United States Congressman Spencer Bachus was at the breakfast I attended Monday, too. He spends many of his public service hours in Washington trying to work with the issues of the day. He told the mayors, city council members and other local government officials how lucky they should be that they all work together so well.
That was one of the few times in my life I believed what a Washington Congressman has said.
2010 is an election year and I’m sure there will be some change up in St. Clair County politics. Some people will retain their positions, some won’t.
But one thing I’ve observed is that no matter who will be put in the position to represent The People, they will be in a system that works well.
“All politics is local” goes the saying. That is the case here and the system is in place for it to continue from what I’ve seen.
Neighbors help neighbors. Or, at least they should. It is the case here in St. Clair County. One neighbor sees another in need, so they loan him a couple of dollars, or a hose to keep the lawn watered, so to speak.
One neighbor doesn’t like the way the other is talking about building a fence, so they decide to keep their yard in better shape. They finaly come to an agreement that in the end, what they each have is their own. But every now and again they’ve got to see each other at the cookout.
