I'd like to pick up the topic raised by Bill, Greg and Susan under the thread
"Democracy in the 21st Century."
I, too, am puzzled by the lack of interest of people in running for the City
Council this year. Some oldtimers on this list may recall that the lack of
council and mayoral candidates four years ago was one of the reasons for
founding Vision 2020 in July of 1993.
I have been observing Moscow city elections since 1973, and I believe this is
the first year that both the mayor and council candidates have run unopposed,
although some years there were as few as five candidates for three council
seats.
In the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, the Planning and Zoning Commission
functioned as an informal training ground for the City Council. If I'm not
mistaken, council members Bill Voxman, Nick Crookston and Mardi Baron
(perhaps others), as well as former Mayor Gary Scott, spent several years on
P&Z before running for council.
That no longer seems to be the case. Perhaps some of the current P&Z members
on this list might comment on why this pattern has changed. Are the time
demands of P&Z so great that people burn out on city government too early?
Or do P&Z members feel that there work is unappreciated?
At one point, I thought other city boards and commissions might serve a
similar function, particularly Parks & Recreation and the Arts Commission.
But that hasn't happened, either.
Was there insufficient notice that three council positions and the mayor's
job would be on the ballot this year? I posted several items on the 2020
list when I was in Moscow this summer, and Larry Hodge wrote a thoughtful
piece for the list on the time commitment of serving on the council. Did
the Daily News publish anything about petitions being available and the
deadline to file?
I'd be interested in hearing other theories about why more people in Moscow
weren't motivated to run this year.
Again, congratulations to Linda, Peg, Tony and Marshall.
--Kenton
***
Kenton Bird, Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Journalism & Technical Communication
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1785
Voice: (970) 491-5986 Fax: (970) 491-2908
E-mail: KBird@vines.colostate.edu