You have no doubt said, "my, how time files when....!" When you are busy trying to get over last Fall's procrastination. It seems as I approach the '80' threshold, days are longer but the results of an hour's effort seem to little effect on a backlog of projects.
In the process of playing catch-up, the season of Primary Election politics has slipped by and this is the last article that can be printed before the final votes are cast. The daily reports on early voting indicate the candidates are not getting the voters' attention stirred up just yet.
As I have watched the Morning News, Rogers edition, boldly make their endorsements, some of the very reasons they proclaim an individual's qualifications, resulting in their endorsement are exactly the reason I would not support them. As usual they are hung up on qualities that come from having been in that position and having gained experience as a result. The longer a person stays in office, the more likely they are to become a part of the system. When evidence of poor leadership or personal skills are prominent in one's days in office, having pending court cases for some of those personnel hiring actions, it leaves me wondering if re-electing them is wise. It will be too late to make changes in office holders after the election.
My position from a previous article about not supporting any incumbent still holds. I acknowledge this can be an unfair statement to many voters seeking advice, but the risk of change is not always bad. Some of our most important county-wide offices are filled by incumbents who do not have opponents and their track record of performance explains why no one runs against them. To offer my view as a shotgun blast against all incumbents might be taken as an endorsement if there are situations where only the incumbent and one challenger are running. When two totally new candidates are seeking an opening without an incumbent, the statement doesn't offer any advice, nor do multiple challengers to an incumbent.
As I have gotten older -- would white-haired, wiser sound better -- my political views have taken into account "relevant experience" and "demonstrated evidence of leadership" in my own voting record. Youth is not to be ignored by any means, because we all start there. Looking back over my own experience, opportunity to be exposed to those who teach experience by example are invaluable on the way up the ladder. However, not every student learns from that exposure because it too takes time. Personal years of dealing with highly respected people and difficult situations, provide a meaningful base for any resume -- political or otherwise. Too often in our seeking an easy reason for supporting a candidate, we don't consider how they handled leadership responsibilities and the effect of their personnel decisions in our choice. Maturity and successful outcomes of a wide range of decisions are generally indications of future decisions.
So basically, each of us must give merit to the things that are most important to us in our decisions. My personal value system has been put to the test in picking candidates I can vote for and trust to remember they work for us, when elected.
We can always remember we don't have to vote in every position, but we do need to make the best choice possible when we fill out our ballots.
Term limits would force some of our choices to come more often and that works at the state level as with our treasurer, but county offices go on as long as the voters themselves allow.
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Editor's note: Leo Lynch is an award-winning columnist. He is a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Editorial on 05/14/2014