Attending or watching Carefree Town Council and Planning & Zoning meetings makes it impossible not to notice that we have plenty of residents telling our public officials that their job is to listen to what they tell them people want, and to deliver on those things.
But I think we all know that is not really how public service should work. People speaking in town meetings really can’t speak for all the community’s residents and even if they could, giving everyone what they think they want is not really the highest good. For Carefree Town Council members, a higher duty than checking the public mood is to act according to the real needs of the community. If they conclude the residents will be best served by a vote that does not seem popular, they have a duty both to take the less popular path and to explain their actions.
Among the candidates, our two incumbents have already passed that test. Stephen Hatcher and Vince D’Aliesio have cast some difficult votes on water consolidation and on both special planning areas in the past, explaining their actions before during and after voting.
Most of our other candidates have platforms that promise things that sound good but have either not explained how they would achieve those things or have not made the case that they are necessary. Only one has demonstrated that she will analyze issues carefully and act accordingly. Only one has demonstrated a willingness to change her position when the facts dictate that she should. That candidate is Colleen Rose-Scurti.
You can want what you want of course, but I believe the three candidates you can count on to do what you need them to do are Stephen Hatcher, Vince D’Aliesio and Colleen Rose-Scurti.
Anton Wilke
Carefree resident
