Not quite done with political opinions

I thought that since the election was over, and the votes were counted, that I was done spouting political drivel and opinions, but I have one more thought. Next week, after the inaugural council meeting, I'll probably have another as well. Hee-hee.

Anyhow, today's thought was prompted by the front page article in the Alaska Highway News, which quoted parts of Mayor Eglinski's and Councillor Simpson's farewell speeches.

Poor Karen Simpson, I think she really wanted to continue on Council, apparently she was in tears following the election, and was again during her speech. Not that I blame her, she did a good job and obviously enjoyed the role she was playing in the community, for the community during her 9 years on council.

Jim Eglinski's speech was quite amusing, in my opinion. "You have elected a dubious new mayor." The AHN quoted him as saying. "I say to the citizens and council of Fort St. John: be vigilant with your new leader." - Sounds like a variation on caveat emptor. He apparently doesn't think that Bruce Lantz is going to be a good leader.

Leadership does require certain qualities, which not everyone possesses. I don't think I have them, one of the reasons why you will never see me running for any kind of political office. I think that to be a good leader, you have to be able to roll with the punches (yeah, I know, a cliche, but please bear with me), and not take offense at the dung that gets heaped on your head. Leaders get blamed for everything that goes wrong - take the Enerplex for example. Some people have called it the Eglinski-plex and said that it was Mayor Eglinski's pet project and that he's to blame for that has gone wrong, or been perceived as wrong, with it. Yet he is just one of 7 members of council. All the council members collectively, democratically, made the decisions surrounding that particular project. And indeed, all projects.

Yet Eglinski didn't appear to take offense, when he was so accused. Will Bruce Lantz, be as even-tempered and patient with his accusers when his time comes, as it no doubt will? Or will he try to shift the blame to others, instead of accepting the fact that not everyone agrees with all decisions a government makes? That, I think, is the nature of politics - you can't please everyone all the time.

However, pleasing people or not, you still need to be a good representative of the community you lead. You need to be able to keep a calm demeanor in the face of accusations from the public, when faced with disagreement from both voters and fellow council members. Taking offense is not an option. Keeping one's smart-ass comments to oneself is also a good idea. That would be an extremely tough one for me! But some people are under the misguided notion that they are funny, and that everyone wants to hear these comments. Again, not an appropriate trait for a leader.

Still, we will see what happens. As always, I will hope for the best. It would be a shame if Mayor Eglinski's caution to the people and council of Fort St. John proves to be necessary. Especially in light of the fact that hardly anyone cared enough about the future of our city to vote.