TERM LIMITS, CHURCH & STATE

A reminder to all that muncipal elections didn't end in February - the runoff for our District Commissioner is March 10th. This has been a very exciting few months for elections - starting of course with the election of our new President and continuing on a local level. I particularly note that it is the first time in many years on the local level that we haven't seen the same faces running for office, whether re-election to their current office or, faced with term limits, running for a new office. It seems to me that term limits can either be a good or bad thing- good in that name recognition and a big war chest will only keep you in office for so long, and bad, in that, particularly in national office, you need people who have been in office for awhile to get the top chairmanships of committees and understand how laws are made. Locally, it has alway seemed that it doesn't work that well - when someone is term limited out of his or her posisition - they tend to simply move to another (usually higher) position.That is why this election is interesting in that we have two novices running for the position. Both seem to have fresh ideas and new enthusiasm which hopefully will translate into good governance.

Talking about politcs can always be a devisive thing - which is why it is important for us all to remember that no matter what our personal views or party affiliations, that the opinions we express on this Blog are just that- opinions and not endorsements of any candidate on behalf of the Civic Association. We have been very careful in the Newsletter to include a disclaimer that any ads we have accepted for candidates for Mayor or Commissioner are paid advertisements and not endorsements of any candidate, and I wanted to make that clear again - for the Newsletter and for any Blog postings.

I reiterate the importance of separating church and state in light of a recent E-mail that I got endorsing a particular candidate stating that "God had lifted his hand" with respect to the votes that candidate received. I have been very careful in my role as President of the Civic Association not to publicly take sides in this election, no matter what views I may express in a more private setting. I think neutrality is important - whomever wins this Commission race will be someone that we need to work closely with, and I do not want to jeopardize that future relationship by taking sides. Having said that, and freely admitting that I am one of those Easter and Christmas church goer types and therefor might not be totally up to date on the subject, I was sort of surprised to discover, according to the E-mail, that God apparently favors one candidate over another. I have a little bit of a hard time with that concept, but again - that's what makes America great- you are entitled to believe anything you want and if what you want to believe is that God picks sides in municipal elections - that is your right. My personal belief is that God has enough other stuff to worry about and should stay out of elections - it has not worked out too well in the Middle East and other places where separate factions each believe that their candidates have gotten the heavenly endorsement. Is it possible that all sides are right? Maybe so - but way beyond my pay grade to say with any certainty. Vote for whomever you choose based on whatever criteria for leadership you find important. Just vote.