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I mean, when you obtain any political power and it does
not morph into attempts at economic empowerment, then you
must question the usefulness of such a majority minority on
a urban city council board.
I know....I know....the first thing that comes to mind
is that this is a white majority-populated city and for the
mayor and/or the five minority council persons to strike a
deal that seemingly only benefits the minority community,
there would be detractors and editorials by The Blade
condemning such a grab of power.
My response...? So!?
If minority mayors and minority members of a city
council do not at least raise the ante regarding their
exercise of political power, why even have them? (Note:
nothing personal...they seemingly are all good people).
If you are at or near the levers of political powers and
you do not want to yank the lever and generate at least some
heat that you are not going to simply occupy a council seat
for the purposes of keeping the city lights on, what is your
function and purpose on council or being a mayor?
Understand also, that such economic planning that
seemingly benefits only certain precincts or zip codes will
benefit all precincts and zip codes because when you heal
the injured arm, the shoulder and the foot and the neck are
also happy, happy!
Take another look at it this way: If you run for mayor
or a council slot, I presume that you are running as a
servant for the people and to make sure that the economic
pie is equitably shared by all; and the parts or areas where
your constituents reside would be supportive of any help in
order to reach economic parity with the other sharers of the
pie.
Now, some may run for a mayor's job for the thrill of
being called, "Da Mayor" and the perks and privileges that
attend thereto. Some may run for a seat on council because
of the perception that you wield power to determine who gets
what and how much.
No one runs simply to be a servant because, if so, I
think that they would also disavow any thought of
compensation for their sacrifice of time since those
salaries could be donated to charitable causes.
So, now we have established that the mayor and the
council members are not in their respective positions for
the fun of it but to both make money and ostensibly render
valuable services to the electorate.
Furthermore, if the mayor and the five minority council
members do not see themselves in the vanguard of
aggressively modeling behavior that indicates a desire to
improve the least of the least, then why run for political
office?
Since there has been no response to my last column on
this issue, I, tongue in cheek, thought maybe that the
mayor and the five minority council members were seeking
guidance on what imponderables are stopping them from
modeling such behavior.
So, in that light, I want to present the following
confessions that they can answer in the privacy of their
own closet and maybe the answers will clue them in to see
just why they are in those positions (or...should not be in
those positions).
The political headiness of running for office for the
sheer exuberance of being called a politico is old hat and a
tired chestnut. When you run for a political slot, I would
hope that you are running with an agenda that says that if I
can not move along a progressive agenda to benefit the least
of the least, I need to get off the political gravy train.
Here are those confessions:
CONFESSION ONE:
I am fearful to step out of my political comfort zone
because:
(a) I am beholden big time to the political bosses and I
must follow their commands.
(b) I never really learned what it means to be a progressive
politician for urban
city dwellers.
(c) I like where I am and what I do, thank you very much.
CONEFESSION TWO:
I don't work well in groups because:
(a) I am a loner and do not want to submit to a group
movement.
(b) I am suspect of the hidden motives of other members of
the group.
(c) I never really gave much thought to it and don't want
to think about it now.
CONFESSION THREE:
I am not really versed in such matters as collective
economics because:
(a) I have not taken the time to read up on such matters
where politics and economics blend together for empowerment.
(b) This is new to me and I’d rather not be involved in such
radical stuff.
(c) When someone else starts this off, I will then look at
it, but not now.
CONFESSION FOUR:
I don't think Toledoans are ready for such a movement
because:
(a) It has never been done before...at least I think it
hasn't been done before.
(b) No one would follow me if I stepped out and engaged in
such discussions with my fellow council members and the
mayor.
(c) Not sure if I could get the voters in my precincts to
follow me. At least, I haven't tried to do so.
CONFESSION FIVE:
This radical "talk" will not work in Toledo because:
(a) Toledoans will not respond to this...at least I think
they won't.
(b) I did not sign up for this type of activism, so count
me out!
(c) I am fearful of back lash from the media and I need
this job to float my bottom line.
(d) This will not work because I don't see myself as a
"black" mayor or a "black" city council person...so there!
Here's to honest answers and introspection!
Contact Lafe Tolliver at tolliver@Juno.com
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