Why are so many local officials quitting? (LTE to the PD)

-

 

In Lynn Haggerty King’s recent letter to the Press Democrat, she kindly warns future City Council candidates to heed her warning; that this job has a huge time commitment. She wrote this in response to Benefield’s column titled “Why are so many local officials quitting?”

King’s warnings come with good intentions but what bothers me is that the author sees the “wave” of officials quitting as a result of not having prepared themselves to take on the work ahead. If all this quitting is a fairly recent phenomenon, then we are led to assume that people are somehow more naive about the demands of the job than officials in the past. Doubtful. 

We need to be cautious that we aren’t pushing working people in 9 to 5 jobs away from opportunities to serve in what are fundamentally volunteer positions.  Most Council members work for themselves or have flexible schedules, and no doubt, they work a ton. But those 9 to 5 employees; they’re the bulk of the working class. We need their voices and leadership -and we need to be on guard so that the structure and schedule of our City Council’s obligations aren't inadvertently harboring a tendency toward elitism. 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Questions about 3 North

-
Cc: The Healdsburg City Council Community Services Director ThemigParks and Recreation Chair Ron Dobley Board of the Healdsburg Farmer’s Market Healdsburg City Manager David Mickaelian -and other interested parties Please feel free to forward this to the Parks and Recreation Commission members and anyone else you think might be interested. Hello All, I have been talking to many people about the question of changing course at 3 North, from a new home for the Farmer's Market and events pavilion, to a potential site for affordable housing. I have more questions than answers, but one thing is for sure. The City of Healdsburg is in a difficult situation. On the one hand, we have a near perfectly executed project. Several years ago, representatives from our beloved Farmer’s Market impressed the City Council with their need for a suitable, permanent home. Staff followed the City Council’s directive, and after a long series of vigorous public input sessions, with
Read more

The Future of Labor in Wine Country

-
Image
 Does the success of our local industries rely on the poverty of their essential workers? This is the question I always return to as I learn more about the widespread housing, health, education, and income struggles of our regional farm workers. The fact is that we have been in a stalemated situation regarding worker welfare (and the lack thereof) in Wine Country for as long as I can remember. But now things are starting to open up as the labor movement gathers new steam nationwide. Recently, we have seen a series of headlines where farm workers and their allies are celebrating legal victories because they are, at long last, finding the strength to stand up and defend their rights. I recently spoke at one of these celebrations and was inspired to hear the workers there speaking of a new sense of bravery and willingness to bring their employers to negotiations -this time with skilled allies, legal aid, and the law itself at their side.  Support comes from, but is not limited to, The
Read more

The Mystery of the New Piazza Hotel’s Approval

-
  How did the hotel being built at 400 Healdsburg Avenue get approved? We have heard this question a lot lately. Didn’t we pass a zoning ordinance that was supposed to stop developments like this from happening downtown? I was part of the citizen’s group that pushed for this ordinance. It was approved in December 2018 with a 4-1 vote of the City Council. We had a lot of support. Our views, that hotel development downtown was out of hand and was threatening the character of our town, were strongly supported by the results of a city survey conducted in the Spring of 2018.   We also made compelling arguments that these limits were supported by the town’s General Plan. Piazza Hospitality has built two hotels downtown and also owns Hotel Healdsburg. When they presented drawings recently for this new project, many in town felt blindsided.     Several citizens asked the city for a timeline, and I took it a step further and did a formal public record request for communications leading
Read more