Cynicism Vs Experience

This morning’s Eagle provided a glimpse into the two candidates running to fill the remainder of Larry Stewart’s term of College Station City Council. These candidates are very different. Jana McMillan represents a perspective that has recently become a trend in College Station and, indeed, across the country. It is a deep cynicism of government and often even of community coupled with a lack of understanding.

While I disagree with the reach of this cynicism, I understand the frustration from which it is born. Like any organization, government can become misdirected and even corrupt. But to suggest that all government is suspect and should be minimized because some government occasionally goes awry is a little like saying that because some terrorists are religious that all religions should be diminished.

This general cynicism is most misplaced when it happens at a local level. The call for increased transparency and more citizen votes is increasingly common and sadly laughable. We should always strive for increased transparency. In a democracy that is axiomatic. But the city seeks much more than just transparency; they seek a high level of citizen involvement. You can blindly call for more things to be put on the ballot. That certainly sounds good. But the fact is, at a local level, citizens have far more power than simply voting. They can roll their sleeves up and become involved in the process of making decisions for their community. That is what John Nichols has done. He has not only served, he has taken leadership positions. It was my privilege to serve on P&Z under his chairmanship. John was always extremely well prepared, knowledgeable and a very patient listener. These are the qualities you want in local leadership.

In College Station we have Council members who were elected on a platform of misplaced cynicism in our local government. This is the platform that Ms. McMillan is running on. They suggest that every investment in our community is a step in the direction of socialism. Individual property rights reign supreme over any sense of community. The city of College Station has a very low property tax rate. Nonetheless, we have done well at maintaining core services like our streets and providing fire and police protection. Despite having a lower tax rate, College Station is better off than our sister city to the north. Rather than simply decrying the waste of this government, McMillan would o well to first point out its efficiency.

We also have public art, a good parks system and youth programs. Not only do these things provide us with an improved quality of life, they also help attract visitors and businesses. These local candidates, who run on an anti government platform, proclaim job creation and the attraction of business among their top priorities, yet they seem to be unaware of the full spectrum of how this happens. It may be true that low quality job providers such as a chicken processing plants are less interested in quality of life amenities. These things are much more important to businesses that provide higher quality jobs. Most university communities that depend on attracting research companies understand this.

McMillan said, "I'm kind of like the 'totally not incumbent.'" Does she think that Nichols is an incumbent? She suggests that Nichols service to the community is somehow a liability. That is a very strange perspective. McMillan’s perspective would seem to discourage and undervalue citizen participation. It suggests that there is no insight or wisdom gained by serving your city. Most people will recognize this for what it is: an endorsement of ignorance.

In reference to the transportation fee on the upcoming ballot, McMillan claims that she is opposed to this fee because it is hidden. I don’t know anyone who is not opposed to hidden fees. Suggesting that a fee that is on the ballot for citizens to vote on is somehow hidden, is beyond me. This is especially odd coming from a person who is suggesting that we need to improve transparency by putting more things on the ballot.

As indicated by surveys, the vast majority of College Station residents support a high level of neighborhood integrity and high quality of life. Nonetheless, this cynicism of our city government and ignorance of the way that it works has been a successful platform to run on in the last couple of elections. This is due to a couple of circumstances. The first is that the development community has a financial stake in relaxing the development standards of our community and they invest heavily in our elections. The second reason is that most residents do not vote because they do not understand the full implication of what is at stake.

Zoning recently became an issue when a large commercial development threatened some of our existing neighborhoods. When our citizens spoke up and that developer did not prevail at City Council in getting the zoning changes that they wanted, they threatened our city with an expensive and frivolous lawsuit. Now McMillan says that she wants to avoid frivolous lawsuits. One can only assume that she means that she will not seek to protect our neighborhoods in a time of need.

Vote to protect College Station. Vote for John Nichols