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1-17-2008 Mayor Carol Waller has announced she will seek election to another term and trustee Jeff Katz, whose first term is up, also intends to run again. But trustee Paul Kuhn has said he will not seek reelection, and that guarantees at least one new member on the board. Serving as mayor or a member of the board of trustees is not necessarily an easy job. The village's system of boards and committees requires the mayor and trustees to attend far more than one monthly meeting. To do a good job, the mayor and trustees have to do their homework and often there is a lot of it. We believe the work they do on behalf of all village residents is important and often times rewarding. But it doesn't always make them the most popular people in the village, as we witnessed this fall. After the uproar over paid parking, we would not have been surprised to see a movement to "throw the bums out," but from what we have heard, that isn't the case. The village Republican and Democratic committee chairmen are again busy looking for candidates to fill the ballot and avoid an uncontested election. We believe it is time for more village residents to become active in their local government. Too often, the job falls to a small handful of people who are called on again and again, and it doesn't take too long for them to begin to suffer "burn out." And involvement doesn't have to mean serving on the village board. A good introduction to the workings of village government can come through being a member of one the village's many committees. It often seems there is little an individual can do to influence what goes on in Washington or in Albany, but in the village, an individual stands a much better chance to make a significant contribution and difference. After all, if we don't have good, representative village government, how can we expect it on the state or federal level? |
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