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Confession Is Good for the (Political) Soul

By Lafe Tolliver, Esq
Guest Column

     As many of you may know, in some past issues, I have written about the odd nature of our collective minority city council members (five of them) and the current black mayor not "coming together" to issue a paper on the stratagems that they could offer to help boost the positive economics of the black community in Toledo.

     My thinking on this issue of collective economics and political power is that if a city has a majority minority on council and the mayor's office is occupied by a black chieftain, then surely something good can come of this other than keeping the streets paved and rounding up stray dogs.
 



Lafe Tolliver, Esq

     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

 

   
   


Copyright © 2017 by [The Sojourner's Truth]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 08/16/18 14:12:35 -0700.


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