I have been listening and reading the dialogue regarding the upcoming Carefree Council elections with dual interest. First as a resident and second as a career student of government and leadership. In my past roles in the Marine Corps, CIA, DEA, Colorado Alpine Rescue Team, and as a private investigator to major corporate, legal, and entertainment figures, I have had the opportunity to observe and experience the full range of quality (good and bad) in leadership/management position holders.
Unfortunately, the current Carefree Council campaign seems to be following the growing trend in the United States of disregarding any positive in the way an incumbent has performed and conversely, the incumbent touting their years in office as the sole measure of their capability while dismissing the new candidate only as “inexperienced.”
Absent is the lesson and humor of Ronald Reagan, who turned an attack against him by Walter Mondal regarding Reagan’s age by “tongue-in-cheek” assuring Mondale that he would not “hold his youth and inexperience against him.” Bringing some humor to the process certainly proved a positive for Reagan.
A review of the backgrounds of the current Council reflects the diversity of experience in education, business, finance, community projects, government, etc. that a community would expect in their governance. It does not, however, exclude bringing new talent and ideas to the Council.
A vote for a new Council member does not have to be viewed as a negative for an incumbent who may have served well and with the best intention. It can be the stimulus for carry-over members to re-think current practices and projects, share their experience with the new members, and be open to fresh ideas that reflect the ever-changing population and era they represent.
Terrence Burke
Carefree Resident
