It’s that time of the year again when we go through the annual ritual of futility in Janesville trying to pick a few good residents for city council without further perpetuating the status quo. The voting public will be asked to choose four candidates from a pool of ten comprising of three incumbents and six challengers on the ballot, and one write-in candidate.
First the incumbents. The voting record of the three incumbents and their general perception and attitude toward the taxpaying public are definitely not the same. In my opinion, only one man stands out – Bill Truman.
Aside from the inexcusable ‘yes’ vote on the Comprehensive Plan, Truman has made the fewest bloopers on the current council and has been one of the spark plugs for rare inner-governmental reforms at City Hall, and has refused to surrender public-use assets for next to nothing. His positives outweigh the negatives and his plain spoken demeanor on the council isn’t salted with sarcasm or the arrogance of a power-tripping sociopath.
It’s impossible to please all the people all the time, yet Truman has handled the power granted to him by the people with dignity and respect for the community. He exemplifies the good neighbor in all of us and the hardworking ethics of Janesville's silent majority. He gets my vote.
But before I do anything in the voting booth, I will be writing in the name, “Julie Backenkeller” first. Here’s why.
In my view, she would bring a lot to the table at city council meetings. Among them a new and refreshing if not absolutely necessary angle to solutions of some the city’s problems and priorities, not to mention a contagious energy level. Some people know her as the “landfill lady” because of her concerns about the Janesville landfill facility and the threat it poses to the future of the city and its residents, an issue which leads me to a common misconception some folks have about “sustainability.”
The fact is, sustainability is not even on the radar of the current city administration or council’s economic growth agenda. Most of the administration’s city-building academics still rely on old world growth templates rooted in the status quo’s perceived delusion of never-ending energy resources and disposable consumerism. But that's only a minor infraction the city has waged against sustainability.
Those who think the newly described and popular “sustainability” movement is a one issue pony are sadly mistaken. Sustainability also encompasses laying a foundation for sustainable schools, infrastructure, jobs, businesses, farms, budgets and of course, natural resources. Without strong consideration given to “sustainability” in each and every issue facing Janesville, the city will arrive at its final destiny sooner, rather then later. Everything else is secondary.
But like Bill Truman, Amy Loasching or the occasional dissenting vote from Tom McDonald, their lone vote or two on a single issue isn’t enough to over-ride the blindfolded soldiers of the status quo. Like them, she can’t do it all herself of course, she needs our help on April 7th.
Of the remaining challengers, there is at least one clone among the pack and possibly one partisan plant. I won't mention names but I will recommend consideration of any of them over the two remaining incumbents, if anything to at least send a message to the loud and vocal power-broking minority.
Janesville is at a crucial moment in its history. We have gone from a manufacturing identity to a joblessness identity overnight - without a fight. The prognosis of such complacency shows us heading into a slow and steady decline. Don’t depend on the academics at City hall or the people who have anointed themselves the leaders of Janesville's economic development to pull us out of this growing recession. If you do, you will be disappointed.
This endorsement is the perspective and opinion of its' author and was not written in collaboration with any candidates. Also, the individuals endorsed in this posting do not necessarily imply an endorsement of the views and opinions expressed on RockNetroots Blog.
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