Gleaning Facebook: No Incumbents

Every person who wants to preserve our Burwell Creek wetlands and park land should contact

Sundai Stevenson,

Abeed Bawa,

and Craig McDaniel and ask them to take a stand.

This breaks my heart, but after decades of supporting

Buzz Wachsteter

, with whom I have had friendly acquaintance for forty years, and whom I admire for his support of the arts, Buzz will not get my 2015 vote.

I have supported Bill Collins every time he has run. (This hurts too.) Not in 2015.

Milton Slack is a fine fellow and he married a wonderful woman for whom I have great admiration and affection. Yes it will hurt, but I will not click the box next to Milton Slack’s name this time. Who would have thought he would rather build housing for non-bus-riding/gated-community folks rather than protect that beautiful gem as a legacy for ordinary Romans to enjoy for decades or centuries.

I had thought Jamie Doss a progressive leader and, as an outdoors enthusiast, someone who would look out for our parks. Jamie, a great guy, put the lie to that last night. I like Jamie. He will not be on the ballot this year, but he will have to work hard to earn my vote again in 2017.

Now we must get behind challengers who will stand behind ordinary Romans in protecting the legacy of our children’s children and guiding growth constructively. We must find candidates with “Hundred Year Eyes” and get them on the Commission. We must have three more votes. THREE. That’s tough, but miraculously that is actually possible this year. IF we can stay focussed for one month. One month. We can win this. It is an up-hill battle but we can win this with one month of exhausting effort and three new votes for REAL progress.

Vote and WORK for candidates that work for those ...

---Whose children DO ride the bus.

---Who ARE willing to hazard needing a “tetanus shot” (!!!!) to preserve our kids’ legacy.

---Who DO support growth, and jobs, and progress, and new apartment complexes, and new restaurants, and new stores, but want to have those things AND our Central Park!

---Who do not view a wetland and park land as a “liability”.

Progress and growth will come. Any fool knows that. Every person attending that meeting last night knows that. Our job as citizens, and our commissioners’ jobs as our servants, is to guide that growth wisely. Our job, together as a generation of citizens and leaders, is to build AND preserve, and, yes, expand, the legacy we will, very soon really, leave to others.