AN INSIDE LOOK
By Bill Gouveia
Last
week this space discussed a list of reasons why you should consider serving as
an elected or appointed town official. Now it’s time to turn to the dark side.
While
I am personally a huge advocate of getting involved in your local government,
there are solid reasons why people generally don’t. Some are a reflection of our times and
society today. Others are simply the
price you pay for taking the initiative and having the grit to be a direct
participant.
So
in the interest of fairness and presenting both sides, I now offer you “Bill’s
Top Five Reasons Not To Serve As A Local Elected or Appointed Official”. Please note, the reasons stated do not
necessarily reflect the personal opinions of this particular opinion columnist. Having said that, here goes:
1. It takes a lot of your valuable time. No matter what elected or appointed post you might
choose to seek, you have to understand it requires serious effort. Obviously, the depth of commitment varies
with the position. As an elected town
moderator today, the demand on my attention is far less than when I served as a
selectman or finance committee member.
But not everyone does it the same way.
Some manage their efforts more efficiently than others, and the existing
political climate at the time you serve is a crucial factor. These are far from full-time positions, but
if you aren’t prepared to devote at least some serious time to them – stay
away.
2. You will be severely criticized no matter what you
do. If your skin is on the thin
side, local government probably isn’t for you.
People will openly question your honesty and integrity without even
knowing you personally. You can easily
become judged by your last vote rather than your consistent efforts at
governing. Those who support you are
likely to do so quietly, while those opposing you and your opinions and actions
tend to be louder. It is easier to be
against things others do than to actually do them yourself, so real leaders are
usually the easiest targets.
3. It is frustrating.
If you are a logical person, town government can be a very frustrating
thing. The rules governing local
governments are often conflicting, nonsensical, and just plain dumb. They often are in direct contradiction of
standard business practices, because despite what some may say – you can’t run
a town like a business. There are
methods and practices used with great success every day in most private firms
that are simply not allowed in the public sector. It is often enough to make good and capable
people throw up their hands in disgust and walk away.
4. It doesn’t always project the best personal image. There was a time when being a local official was something
the public at large greatly respected and appreciated. While that should still be true today, far
too often we fail to give our local officials the benefit of the doubt. We often seem to assume the worst. Whenever a tough decision is made by a board
or committee, many believe it a given the individual members were improperly
swayed by political (or other) considerations granted by those on the “winning”
side. Your claims of simply trying to
serve your community and do the right thing are often met with snickering. Being even a local politician has somehow
become a bad thing in this cynical world.
5. If you do your job well, you stand a good chance of
losing it. There is no
more self-defeating part-time position in the world than
being a good local leader. Often there
is no true success or failure, only survival or extinction. Sure, there are those who defy the odds and
serve long periods of time while maintaining their independence against the
ever-changing tides of public opinion. But
in general, local government is all about compromise. When you make the tough decisions, you take
the tough hits. Some of us are just
better at that than others.
So
now we’ve discussed both the pros and cons of holding local office. In the end, it’s all about trying to make a
difference. How do you do it? That’s up to you.
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