What I Wish For In Our County Councilors
BY KEVIN HOLSAPPLE Los Alamos
With an election coming up, I am thinking about who to vote for for the open County Council seats. I encourage every voter to have some criteria in mind when choosing who to vote for. It isn't clear to me how the available candidates (or our current Councilors) match up to what I wish for in our County Council, but I would sure welcome hearing from them all on the following criteria as I decide who to vote for and talk to other people who ask what I think. All of the current councilors and candidates are good, nice, community-minded people who mean well, but voting for friends or party affiliation will not give us a more effective government. Here is my wish list:
A great County Councilor understands the importance of supporting local businesses and enhancing the local business environment. The results of the most recent community survey I have seen ranked "enhancing support and opportunities for the local business environment" as the top priority for the County government in the next five years. The Council's Strategic Leadership Plan also highlights this area. There have been a handful of bright spots, but my general impression is that this area needs major improvement and that it receives lip service but little active championing by the Council. I wish for a Council that considers this priority in every decision they make – "How will or could this decision positively benefit local businesses? Will it hurt or damage existing local businesses? How could it be structured to be more beneficial?"
A great County Councilor actively listens to the community, seeks their input, and represents their interests in decision-making. I wish for Councilors who will prioritize community needs and engage in meaningful dialogue with residents. I have lost confidence in County public participation processes that often seem to be structured to gather input to support pre-conceived conclusions rather than to get and use genuine citizen input. It often seems that the County Council ignores inconvenient community input and acts as "rubber stampers" for poorly conceived staff proposals. I wish that would change.
A great County Councilor is committed to transparency and accountability in County operations. From my observation, the order of the day is to say that the letter of the law has been met, not to be truly open, transparent, and accountable. Bureaucratic reasoning seems selectively applied to support staff interests while blocking others. I wish for more than lip service and minimal compliance.
A great County Councilor prioritizes strategic decision-making that considers the long-term health and well-being of the community.This includes considering the impact of decisions on the local economy, environment, and quality of life for all residents. There seem to be false choices being set up between using land for workforce housing and developed recreational needs on the one hand, and protecting and preserving open spaces and more passive recreational needs on the other. This is a red herring. There is no need to lose an attribute of what makes our community distinctive and special by sprawling like is done in most places. This may challenge the staff to go beyond their current knowledge and experience. Still, I wish for a Council with vision, imagination, and willingness to champion solutions that keep our community different from everywhere else.
A great County Councilor recognizes the importance of collaboration and partnership, both with community members and other entities, in achieving community goals. Our local government strikes me as being a restrictive bureaucracy, but it doesn't have to be. Bureaucratic excuses for not collaborating or partnering are easy to find and seem to rarely be challenged by our Council. Council leadership is needed to bring the bureaucratic forces more in balance with a public-private partnership perspective that would help get things done. The County needs to work collaboratively with local businesses and organizations to address the goals of the many plans that have been adopted and are on the shelf. I wish for a Council that directs staff to "find a reasonable way to get it done" rather than accepting bureaucratic excuses for not collaborating and partnering to achieve community goals.
I wish for seven great County Councilors!
