County Commission | The Magazine April 2020 | Page 7

probably wasn’t what he had
expected. I’ve been giving advice
to commissioners and county
employees since a chilly November
day in 1987. I’ve always thought
I had every answer — and every
now and then, I have been right.
But now, as April turns into
May in the year 2020, I’m still not
so sure I have any idea what to tell
people. I don’t know what to do
or, more importantly, what not to
do. So, I turned the tables on that
commissioner.
If you didn’t sign up for this, I
asked, then why exactly did you run
for public office in the first place?
The silence was painful. But
I’ve known him for years, and I was
sure he was thinking.
Well, he said after what seemed
What the public expects — and should demand
— is that we provide a steadying hand. County
government should set the right kind of example
for the other community opinion leaders.
Its elected officials and affiliate members
should provide an example that can lead
us through these desperate times.
like an hour, I guess this is exactly
what I did sign up for.
With that out of the way, we
talked about his problem. We
talked about his community — the
confusion, the shortcomings, the
fear, the unknown, the possibility
that things might be better one day.
Together, we forged a plan to
move forward toward tomorrow.
We agreed to talk again, and he
promised to get to work. I took him
at his word.
Leadership isn’t flashy. It isn’t
always found on the cable television
shows or on Facebook or Twitter.
Leadership is loving your community.
It’s loving your neighbors. And it’s
being willing to answer the questions
that scare off almost everyone else. n
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