I was raised in Illinois. The Land of Lincoln. I have heartland values.
Maybe that’s why this election year has been so disturbing to me. It seems I’m just not angry enough or afraid enough to embrace the hate-filled mentality that has gripped the American political psyche.
In my Midwestern heart I’ve always believed that democracy embraces different groups, interests and opinions; that its elected officials hold ongoing discussions with their constituents and follow the rules of law to sort through passion-filled rhetoric and reach compromise without abandoning civility.
I was taught the alternative of democracy was dictatorship or governance by cabal. Those are frightening options to consider.
When casual discussion turns to the theatrics of national politics, I tend to get on my soapbox and suggest we all turn off the TV and focus on what’s happening locally. That’s what matters, I say. The important politics are local politics. In a small town it’s important to be neighborly about our disagreements.
I’m not so sure anymore. It seems to me that even some local elections have become mean-spirited.
Through the years, I’ve observed small-town elections influenced by behind-the-scenes politics. No surprise. And new or unknown candidates have always made a sitting commission nervous. That’s to be expected.
But when an elected commission actively and publicly campaigns against one of its colleagues, it raises more than eyebrows. It calls out questions about transparency. Why is a 5-0 vote so important? Good question.
Maybe Ocean Ridge should have made a call to Boca Raton before embarking on unified public endorsements against a sitting commissioner.
Remember Boca Raton’s 2012 TV commercials? The questions they raised about Sunshine Law violations? The re-election of the commissioner in an apparent backlash to this unified, public endorsement of his competition?
In Boca Raton, vocal and well-organized groups have grown out of the distrust of a commission that felt the need to push for a 5-0 vote. These groups have not been afraid to sue the city when they felt their rights were violated. They have remained vigilant.
This is the natural outcome of elected officials forgetting that their jobs require listening to different groups, interests and opinions.
Call me Midwestern, but I still believe open discourse is as essential to democracy as the right to vote. And last time I looked, we all still had that right. Use it.
Lantana, Ocean Ridge and South Palm Beach will hold municipal elections during the March 15 presidential preference primary. Delray Beach will have two referendum items on the ballot. For more information see pages 16-18.
Mary Kate Leming, Editor
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Comments
Well said, Mr. Baldwin!
And so, the election in Ocean Ridge ends.
Highlights were really lowlights. Allison's "crew":
- Papered doors and windshields with fliers- Violation of town ordinances
- Stuffed mailboxes with fliers- Violation of United States Postal Service Laws
- Bussed in high school kids to wave "Win with Lynne" signs, promising them credit toward their Community Service requirement- Violation of Department of Education Regulations
- Keyed Mr. Coz' car at Town Hall- Violation of criminal statutes
And the results? The highest turnout in Town History:
- Coz: 445
- Allison: 356
- Resounding vindication of the remaining commissioners and their right to support whom they individually choose.
- Resounding repudiation of Occupy Ocean Ridge.
- Resounding repudiation of the former police chief, who served as Occupy Ocean Ridge's mentor.
- Resounding repudiation of the views expressed in the unfortunate Coastal Star editorial above.
Sometimes, we give the voters less credit than they deserve. That's always a mistake. Hopefully we can each take a lesson from this election mandate and stop with the childish accusations of criminal behavior by our local elected officials; the nuisance FOID demands; the bogus recalls; the empty ethics complaints; and the uninformed lectures at Town Meetings.
Hopefully, we can simply agree to work together, in civil tones, to guarantee that Ocean Ridge remains the jewel of Palm Beach. And when we disagree, hopefully we'll do it without the ad hominem, personal attacks.
For myself, I'm nothing, if not hopeful. I have heartland values.
TB
Illinois? You're kidding, right?
You mean the Illinois that gave us Mayor Richard J. Daley. The same Mayor Daley who raised political corruption, political violence and election fraud to an art form? The same Illinois who gave us Rod Blagojevich and Operation Greylord?
Thanks, but I think we Floridians can do without the lecture on the values and virtues of the political process in "the heartland".
Now, to your point. Elected officials are under no more obligation to muzzle their preference in elections than newspaper editors....and you've clearly staked out your position and candidate in this election. As to your conspiracy theory of commissioners attempting to engineer 5-0 votes, this is absurd. In fact, it's tin foil hat absurd. Last I checked, most votes in Ocean Ridge are 5:0, though 3:2 is quite enough to prevail.
If you're looking for reasons why the current commissioners couldn't support Ms. Allison, I suggest you look no further than what those of us in the audience have witnessed. A commissioner who is seldom prepared and often confused on the issues. A commissioner who lost a very lucrative consulting contract in neighboring Delray Beach when her employee was indicted on charges of bribing a Delray city commissioner for her vote on that contract. A commissioner who cost the town of Ocean Ridge nearly $100,000 in legal fees by proudly promoting the recall of a fellow commissioner; even after the town attorney advised that "not representing the values of the town" is not grounds for a legal recall under the very laws she was sworn to uphold.
Or perhaps the commissioners endorsed Mr. Coz simply because they believe he will be better prepared and more thoughtful than Ms. Allison.
It seems every time a vote or opinion ruffles the feathers of the Occupy Ocean Ridge crowd, it's promoted as de facto proof of corruption and Sunshine Law violation. This is simply laughable to the rest of us.
The Coastal Star is to be commended for the quality of its news coverage in most cases. But this "editorial"; this campaign speech, while thinly veiled as a hit-piece (smear), aimed at the entire Ocean Ridge town commission, is hardly worthy of your paper.
Come to think of it, it wouldn't be worthy of any local paper in "the heartland", either. I should know. I was raised in the heartland also.
T. Baldwin