On the Campaign Trail … 10/24/10 … Debates, Symptoms and Problems

This past week I had the opportunity to debate my opponent in the race for City Council in Stillwater’s First Ward.  It was an exciting, demanding and fast-moving experience answering weighty questions submitted by the Stillwater Gazette and my opponent.  I had only 60 to 90 seconds to formulate, and deliver a meaningful response.  I felt like I’ve been through a rough workout when it was over and, ironically, political experts say not one vote is changed by debates because people already have their minds made up before tuning in.

While I acknowledge the political scientist’s expertise, I think debates, when looked at closely, do tell us things which may not be evident at first glance.  In this instance, I was drawn to my opponent’s tendency to address symptoms instead of the problem itself.  He says the most important order of business in the First Ward is traffic management.  I say that is merely a symptom of the basic problem: an out of date, increasingly dangerous and over-worked bridge.  For decades (my opponent was on the City Staff 20+ years), politicians and administrators have been trying to “manage” the traffic, all to no avail.  It is time to change direction and start talking about closing the bridge down, primarily because it is no longer safe.  People unaccustomed to thinking outside of the box mumble about how the Feds and State will not allowing that to happen?  How will we ever know if there is no will to go in that direction?

As Abraham Lincoln said in his annual message to Congress in 1862, “Still the question recurs, ‘can we do better?’ The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.  The occasion is piled high with difficulty and we must rise with the occasion.  As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.” Managing symptoms is not what Stillwater needs now.  Instead, leadership which results in solving problems can move the city out of this longtime gridlock.  There is a distinct difference between the two of us, so aptly shown during the debate.  My opponent will manage the status quo, while I will lead to make Stillwater truly Minnesota’s First City.