Bob Dylan was right when he sang The Times They Are a-Changin’ in 1964. I used to joke that Winters never changes, just the people get older. That isn’t true anymore with new subdivisions and businesses popping up like almond trees. I guess it depends on how you view Winters’ new look whether you like what Winters has become or not.
There are people that worked hard to make Winters Winters. Some were elected and others just concerned business owners and residents trying to make Winters a better place to live and work. I’ve always wondered why some people run for political office while others sit back and watch from the back row. My hat is off to anyone who decides to dedicate their lives to public service, even if just for a few years, or decades.
I’ve never had the guts to run for office, and being a publisher of a community newspaper, didn’t think it was appropriate for me to run. Most publishers think like I do, but a few have thrown their hat in the ring and were elected. I think it would be a conflict to be in office and run a newspaper, both from a financial standpoint and being able to voice my opinion every week in print.
We are having a city council election on March 3 and will have a school board election this November. For the council there are only three people running for two seats. It is a ways off, but there should be multiple seats open on the school board with Michael Olivas stepping down.
It is one thing to sit on the sidelines and yell at the players on the field and another to suit up and get into the game. There is a reason that most decide not to run. It takes a lot of time to do the job right and you’ll be putting yourself out there for criticism for your decisions. You won’t find many merchants on city councils because they afford to lose what little business they still have.
Some like the excitement of the game and those are the ones we need to run. They need to have tough skin for when they make decisions that some argue are just wrong, when they know it was the right thing to do.
I’ve mentioned before that I think we have been either blessed, or lucky, to have had good city councils for a long time now. Almost all of our representatives have tried to do their best to steer Winters down a path that would make Winters better.
If you can find the time before March 3, try and meet the candidates for city council. Bill Biasi, Jesse Loren and Richard Casavecchia should be more then willing to answer your questions and concerns. If you agree with their answers you’ll know who to vote for. If they can’t answer your questions . . .
Vote early, vote often and have a good week.
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