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EMIL
FRANZI |
OV election lessons for the winners, and for us
March 19, 2008
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Salette Latas and Bill Garner were
just elected to the Oro Valley
Town Council by 66 percent and 62
percent, respectively, in an
election having a 31 percent
turnout. That’s about as close to
“mandate” as you get.
Others have done as well in the past — and blown it by the end of their terms — for failing to grasp why they won and what was expected of them. Latas and Garner, like Huckabee and McCain in a higher profile effort, were dramatically outspent. The need for campaign finance reform is over-rated. Full disclosure adequately reported by the media works rather well. Councilman Terry Parish may have already broken local spending records even before fighting to keep his seat in a run-off against Councilman Barry Gillaspie. Gillaspie has the better shot at the almost 4,000 primary undervotes cast. Mae West’s maxim “when faced with a choice between two evils, I always pick the one I haven’t tried before” is inoperative here, but many OV voters who went only for Latas and Garner may choose the lesser of the two remaining ones. Mayor Paul Loomis and his remaining ally, Councilman Al Kunisch, must recognize that OV voters have repudiated them, too. As Bret Maverick said, you can fool all the people some of the time and some people all of the time, and those are pretty good odds. Vestar successfully hustled voters — once. They were lied to. It was a Wal-Mart after all. They didn’t like it. Looks like they don’t like a huge park project requiring a property tax, or a utility tax, either. And they’re shaky about annexing another big hunk of state land. Had Loomis or Kunisch been on this ballot and faced with any candidate with one head who didn’t drool, they’d be cleaning out their desks with Councilwoman Helen Dankwerth. Unlike now, State Rep. Nancy Young Wright, Loomis’ last opponent, Latas and Garner had no qualms discussing opposition shortcomings. For Latas and Garner and allies Paula Abbott and K.C. Carter, now comes the hard part, governing. Here’s my advice. Try to remember what you promised and don’t let lobbyists or the town bureaucracy talk you out of it. Get a handle on those bureaucrats. They have most of the information and many are hostile to you. Be ready to replace some high level folks with those friendly to your point of view and willing to implement it. No one expects President McCain or President Obama to keep President Bush’s cabinet. The same principle applies in local government. Don’t let the bureaucracy pick their successors — do it yourself, or appoint a citizen’s committee. Genuinely change directions. Banning new Vestar deals needs incorporation in the town charter. Put it on the ballot next election. Blow Mayor Loomis’ cover on running a high-priced alternative route to Oracle Road over the Tortolitas extending La Cholla, which is partly driving the annexation push. Instruct the Pima Association of Governments and the RTA Board to remove that plan. Replace Mayor Loomis from being the town representative to PAG and anything else. You won, act like it. This means a lot of work. The bureaucracy keeps control of elected officials by running them ragged with meetings and dumping tons of information on them until they’re worn out. Plan on reading a lot of very boring documents. Never trust those who hand them to you until they’ve proved themselves. Question the need for those meetings in the first place. Most civil servants are honest, decent folks, but you’re responsible for their direction. They must know what you want, and that you’re in charge or else those less decent and honest will take over. It’s called “politics.” It’s how you make “policy.” If you’re successful with most of the above, you may be able to leave office on your own terms. I’m told by those few who’ve accomplished it that it’s a really great feeling.
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BUT WATCH WHAT YOU SAY! |
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