Reflections. . .a time to be real. . .

Frankly, I was not happy with how I handled many of the questions of the Candidate Forum.  Being a research-oriented, investigative person, I am better with prepared remarks than extemporaneous answers.  As many of us can relate, I, too, can look back and say this should have been done differently.

Surprisingly, a few people came up afterwards and complimented me.  Assuming they were being polite, I replied, “No, I didn’t feel I handled the questions well.”  All their responses were kind, with one countering that he saw me as being real.

The Forum was designed to be a voter education event and not a debate, and specifically interjections or crosstalk between candidates and between candidates and audience were not allowed.  My focus was to answer the questions posed as accurately as I could.  Looking back, however, I should have found a way to weave into my answers the concerns I’ve identified and proposals I’m making.

Nevertheless, the Forum is now completed.  Rather than run from it, I embrace it, because to you, the voters, I want to be real.

 

A Model for Public Service and a Commitment to You. . .

My closing remarks at the Candidate Forum were taken from Dennis Kucinich’s book, “The Division of Light and Power.”  The book is a gripping account of his time in Cleveland municipal government from his service as councilman to city clerk and finally to mayor.  Kucinich writes:

“I began my career in politics as a naïve optimist, excited about the wonderful things I planned to accomplish to improve the lives of the people who put me in office.  What I soon learned, however, was that government. . .did not function for the benefit of the governed.  It functioned for the benefit of office-holders and for their co-opting patrons.

Politics is inherently transactional.  It is a process of give-and-take, and compromise.  The distinction between normal politics and corrupt politics can therefore be difficult to recognize.  The line is crossed when the reward is personal to the office-holder—private sector jobs for friends or relatives, contracts for personal business interests, admission to a desirable network of associates, support for a favorite charity, and well-timed campaign contributions can be inducements that cause an elected official to favor a private interest over a public interest.  Corruption is much more than cash slipped under the table.  Its forms are endless.

This process is so endemic that it is actually accepted as “The System.”

Every newly-elected office-holder. . .must decide early on if he or she will participate in The System, or challenge it.  Ignoring corruption or pretending it does not exist is not a real option, because by acquiescing without trying to impede or stop it, you become complicit in facilitating it.  Once elected, you must either join The System or fight it.”

I’m not seeking this office to join a particular club or network.  While hoping to work with other Council members in a collegial fashion, I’m an outlier and shall remain so.  I want to be the voice of those feeling unheard and bypassed.  I no longer want to accept the notion that “you can’t fight City Hall.”  Together, let’s build a city where we all have a voice; we all are heard.  Thank you.

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The Alderperson Candidate Forum for 2024 is available for viewing on the City of Muskego’s YouTube channel between now and Election Day, April 2, 2024.  It is labelled as City of Muskego, Aldermanic Voters Forum, Districts 3 & 5 and presented by the Muskego Woman’s Club.