 |
| Jim Harbison |
I recently had an opportunity to have a long conversation with one of our City Councilors. I would encourage everyone to try to meet with a locally elected City or County representative. Sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee and learn what motivates them and what their vision is for your community. You may be surprised, dismayed, puzzled, or reassured. In order to preserve his/her identity I will use the unisex name of “Dana” to refer to this Councilor. We began our discussions talking about our backgrounds and where we had similar or seemingly conflicting beliefs. The conversation was friendly and we agreed to disagree without any hostility, threats, or personal attacks. This made for a very open, free, and enjoyable discussion that seemed to have no limits.![]()
As we spoke we both realized a mutual our love for our community and genuine concerns about making it a more wonderful place to live. Our differences included what the future City should look like. We moved here because of the warm welcoming attitude of everyone we encountered on our first visit and it’s a beautiful City. It offered just about everything we could want including affordable housing, amazing weather, friendly people, historic culture, sports, arts, music, theater and unbelievable scenic panoramas.
As retirees who lived in cities around the world we found the city had its own unique character. Never did it occur to me to move here and try to recreate any of the communities of my past. I do not understand why the incoming migrant retirees want to redesign the city. I asked why the Councilors were determined to increasingly manage the activities of the residents (cell phones, red lights, lighting, flags, zoning, etc) to change the character of the city.
After several hours of discussions “Dana” and I acknowledged that our values were not that much different and that both of us genuinely were concerned about our fellow citizens and our city. We don’t need to create a different city we just need common solutions to maintain the rich cultural heritage and traditions.
Posts
2 comments:
This city council is more about squeezing its constituency for more money than simply providing reasonable services and preserving the heritage of this community. Yes, they're for change alright and their vision of change involves strong arming businesses for more money, picking winners and losers who can profit from growth and controlling growth through eminent domain suits over water supplies, who controls the supply of water and where water can go to facilitate growth. That's WAY too much government. There is a growing concern amongst many voters that this council has overreached into many areas where it doesn't belong. Las Cruces IS in need of some changes. It starts with electing a new city council that supports growth, doesn't extort businesses with unnecessary permits and new fees and doesn't manipulate the process of who wins and loses in the private sector. More voters in the community need to know who they're electing. The current city council should be judged on what they've achieved instead of what they will say they're for. The cost of living in this city has drastically increased as a result of their ideological agenda, which they weren't forthcoming with during their campaign to get elected. They have been less than honest, to say the least. If they're re-elected you can count on higher fees and a multitude of new permits and rules designed to squeeze even more money from each and every one of us. They are determined to stifle growth and jobs at the taxpayers expense.
It's about TWS and IBTS. TWS is teeny weeny sydnrome. You may guess at the other. It's about people who really can't manage their own lives attempting to tell the rest of us how to live. In the west we stay out of other people's lives. If you weren't born here, you can never understand our area.
And yes it is about money. Greed is the great driving force for nearly everyone. In government, it's OPM (opium) or Other People's Money. These people think we elect them to lead us. Somewhere they lost track of the truth. THEY, the elected, are our servants. They are not their to think for themselves. They are not their to make us do things their way. They are there to do OUR bidding. If they don't do what We the People want, then We the People need to hold up our standards and fire them (recall or whatever). I advocate never reelecting anyone to a second term or even to a second office. In once and out.
As to the feel good approach to housing, we need more stigma attached to bad choices. People need to be shamed. As was mentioned after the tsunami, people in Japan do not reaily engage in pillaging after a disaster because of the shame factor. Everyone is where they are because of choices they have made. If not, then no one would be able to change anything. If someone else is responsible then you have no control of your life and thus can make no difference no matter what you do. Those people who have no job but have a quiver of children must be held responsible for their behavior and nothing does a better job than a shining a little light on them.
Post a Comment