Out here in our small – really small – California community, I’m participating in governing and managing the community, with three other elected volunteers. I say — ‘participating’ — because we have a professional community manager and his staff working with us.
We four elected folks, and our community manager, meet virtually during the pandemic, to address what’s on each agenda, including financial reports, community infrastructure maintenance and improvements, and various issues and needs that are brought to our attention. Sharing thoughts, insights and opinions, we perform our public service, discussing and debating various things, and, sometimes, agreeing to disagree.
As an elected public servant — sort of — I was amazed to read in The New York Times about some politicians who seem to be “more interested in brand-building than lawmaking.”
Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was “removed from her congressional committee assignments in response to her record of extremism” boasted about being “freed” from doing “actual legislative work…”
This comes on the heels of US Representative Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) conceding that his principal focus is not governing. As Time magazine recently reported, the North Carolinian wrote in an email to a colleague, “I have built my staff around comms rather than legislation.”
Brand building? Isn’t that a ‘consumer products’ kind of endeavor? Promoting breakfast cereal brands, for instance, automobiles, fashion brands… that sort of thing?
Feeling free from legislative work! Switching from lawmaking to brand-building! On taxpayers’ dimes?
There’s that going on, plus, putting it mildly, a certain reluctance among politicians to cross the aisle, as they say in government…to go over things, to listen to thoughts, insights and opinions, to reach agreements, or to even agree to disagree.
Imagine that! We’re doing things better out here in our community, than some of those elected politicians out in DC…
I’ll tell you one thing… we’re darn serious about public service.
Harvey Radin is former senior vice president in charge of corporate communications and media relations, Bank of America Western Region. He makes his home in Redwood City, CA.