There’s a pretty important election Tuesday in Warsaw and Winona Lake. Those municipalities will choose new leadership. I’ve been in this town for 23 years now and this is the first time there has been this level of interest in a city election. Usually, the results are a foregone conclusion and the election is a formality. Not this time, especially in the Warsaw election. Now, I am not going to tell anybody who should get their vote. And I can’t even tell you who I’m going to vote for because I don’t live in Warsaw. But I’ve been listening closely to all the things the candidates have been saying and I do have a few observations. There’s been a lot of talk about some sort of “good ol’ boy” political network in Warsaw. This term is being tossed around as a pejorative. And you know what? Maybe that’s true. Maybe there is a group of people who are more civically involved, more likely to run for office, more likely to get elected and thus, more likely to be in leadership positions. But “good ol’ boy” is being tossed around as a pejorative. My question is: Why is that automatically a bad thing? Certainly, in any government entity, there is the potential for abuse and corruption, regardless of how long the person or party has been in power. But just because a person or party has been in government for a long time doesn’t automatically make them bad, does it? Don’t assessments like these have to be made by looking at results? I guess I would simply suggest that voters look around. Is Warsaw a decent, affordable place to live? Is unemployment below the state average? Is the median education level above the state average? Is the median income above the state average? Is the infrastructure – streets, sewer and water – in good shape and poised for growth? Are property taxes lower here than like-sized communities elsewhere in Indiana? Does the city have decent parks and recreational activities and facilities available? Are there programs and agencies in place to help those less fortunate? Are the fire department and police department well-manned and well-equipped? Is the crime rate here lower that other like-sized towns? See, I think if you took time to research those and lots of other similar questions you probably would find the answers to be in the affirmative. And there has been a lot of talk about the purchase of the National City Bank building in this election. I might have been a little tougher negotiator and tried to get it for a better price, but I certainly don’t think turning that building into city property was a horrible idea. I think the city will be able to consolidate city offices, sell off the resultant unused property and lease remaining available space in the new location. In the end, financially, I think the city will come out just fine. And besides, I am fairly confident if the city passed on that building, there would be a big empty building sitting downtown for years. Also, if the city consolidates all its offices in one place downtown, it will be a draw to the downtown. Anybody who has to do city business will come downtown. All the people who work in the building will be downtown every day. I bet lunch crowds and downtown restaurants will grow. I think it just tends to make the downtown more active. I just don’t see it as a bad move by a bunch of “good ol’ boys.” Of course, there always is room for improvement. That goes without saying. But I guess I am a little wary about people saying they want “change.” Change from what? *****A move by the Warsaw School Board raised an eyebrow with me the other day. The board approved construction of four storage buildings for $466K and change. Seriously? I get that you can’t store lawnmowers and other equipment that uses gasoline in a school, but nearly $125K for a storage building? You could build a pretty nice house for that. The buildings had to be brick and mortar to match the adjacent school. Why? The buildings had to insulated and heated, bringing state codes into play. Why? What are they storing that can’t be cold? Maybe there’s a good reason for all this but I am having a tough time buying into $125K each for four storage buildings – especially these days when education funding is under pressure.
