Incumbents delivered a wake-up call

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November 11, 2008

By Nick Lewis The Richmond Register Tue Nov 11, 2008, 08:59 AM EST

RICHMOND — Incumbent Richmond City Commissioner Mike Brewer is breathing a sigh of relief today. He knows he is very fortunate to survive Tuesday’s election. Even though Commissioners Robert Blythe and Bill Strong haven’t openly admitted that same sentiment, they are very fortunate likewise. That’s what happens when citizens are given quality candidates to choose from that provide the opportunity for change.

It’s also what happens when experienced incumbents become complacent using a rubber stamp mentality on issues they feel aren’t important such as Camp Catalpa. This issue exposed their inherent weaknesses and created a movement for change. Rita Smart’s victory is just the beginning if the incumbents don’t get their act together.

It’s important to note that newcomer Smart leapfrogged over all of the incumbents in the primary and significantly increased her margin of victory in the general election top to bottom. It shows the trust and leadership citizens have in her to provide the leadership they have been seeking and that we will see from her as she takes office. Furthermore, Bryant and Thomas had the largest percentage increase in votes from the primary to the general election, further supporting a growing sentiment for change.

If these results don’t resonate with the Blythe, Brewer and Strong, they should because in two years they each may be on the outside looking in. That happened to four incumbents in Berea this election. If Blythe, Brewer and Strong continue to lead with emotions and not logic as they have in the past with their actions regarding countywide 911 dispatch system, they will further jeopardize their chances for future re-election.

With the economic outlook looking rather bleak, the Richmond City Commission will need to evaluate opportunities for efficiencies in the city budget to manage the challenges ahead to maintain and improve services, especially public safety.

Commissioner Blythe was disappointed with our editorial endorsement that didn’t include any of the current commission. I can only say that they each earned it with their past actions, but I hope they’re astute enough to learn from it. In our opinion, the challengers as a team brought a lot of positive and fresh innovative leadership to the table. That’s why we endorsed them. They gave us hope for change and effective leadership as a team which was missing from the incumbents. In many ways, our endorsement was about positive change similar to that of the presidential election.

The incumbents have the opportunity to redeem themselves if they just look at what we liked about all of the challengers. They also need to take a step back and review all the things that went wrong with the Camp Catalpa fiasco. That shouldn’t be difficult to do because they are the basics of creating an open and transparent government with fairness. That’s all citizens expect.

To help them, I’ve listed a few suggestions listed below that may keep them out of hot water, if they just practice them.

• Make sure meeting agendas are written so that they fully describe what business is being discussed; nothing should be left to chance.

• Make sure the agendas are accessible to all citizens and that may require posting them on the doors of City Hall.

• Abide by the open meeting policies with consistency and fairness.

• Provide the opportunity for citizen input after each meeting addressing any first readings of any order or ordinance.

• Conduct more public forums dealing with any projects involving public funds or public land with the private sector.

• Practice sensible fiscal responsibility within current limits of our infrastructure and current services.

It’s our job to make sure the city commission does these things and when they don’t, we will hold them accountable using all of the tools at our disposal. Our expectations are high, but not impossible to meet.

Commissioners Blythe, Brewer and Strong have received a wake-up call, but they have the opportunity to improve on their past miscues and provide the leadership needed and working as a team with newcomer Smart.

Whether any of our newly elected city commissioners will earn an endorsement in the next election is up to them and based on their ability to work together for the greater good of Richmond and Madison County.

Nick Lewis is publisher of the Richmond Register. He can be reached at nlewis@cnhi.com or 624-6682.

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Incumbents delivered a wake-up call

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