Dear Editor:
On a recent trip ‘next door’ to Carefree, I ran into Kathlina Lai, a candidate in the current primary election for Carefree Town Council. When queried, I said I was a Cave Creek resident and was not able to vote for her. I also offered that I was running in the primary for Town Council in Cave Creek. We compared views, local observations and shared our reasons why we were running. On a subsequent Saturday, I met her fellow candidates Duke Vukotic and Sven Maric.
They were friendly, and noticeably younger than typical candidates in both towns. Their animated descriptions of what they wanted from local government was infectious. Their smiles made me begin to believe that local status-quo governance does not have to be a ‘given.’ (They had also brought their dog to work that day. Dogs can identify nice people in a group).
Local town council chairs belong to the voters. Every two years, in both towns, every candidate must be auditioned by the voters to be seated. Sometimes the incumbents feel proprietary about ‘their’ seats and challengers are viewed suspiciously and defensively. But, anytime the voter has a choice in candidates for their town council, that is a good thing. Choices mean options — and with millions of budget dollars annually at stake and our private property as public collateral, candidate choices make the difference, and determine issue outcome.
If, when these three candidates are successful in their bid for a Carefree council seat, and if I am chosen by Cave Creek voters to return after service 22 years ago as their first elected mayor, we have already committed to work to restore our joint town council meetings that we held historically in the 1990s – once a year in Carefree chambers, six months later, an annual joint meeting in Cave Creek.
We’ve had fun this summer, dreaming about ways to return small-town-style councils in both communities.
Next time I’ll bring my dog to their post office. Socializing seems to still work.
Sincerely,
Tom Augherton
2022 Primary Candidate for Cave Creek Town Council
