I find myself in a strange position over the past few weeks. I’ve been talking to folks and thinking a lot about how the County Commission was going to act when faced with seven candidates for the board to replace Scotty Tillery as the District 1 Commissioner.
I think back a long time ago to when I was first on the job down here in Polk for the paper and Scotty was one of the first people I met here in Cedartown. I think about the hours I spent picking his brain and sharing opinions, and then I sometimes over the past couple of months about his legacy, and what he would have done after seeing these seven fairly qualified people step up to lend their names for consideration.
Putting yourself in that position in these crazy times is by itself a big step. Especially when people are willing to say the nastiest things about public figures on social media without knowing a thing about them. Only judging by positions or fragments of a sentence quoted and used against them as if they were the coming of the Anti-Christ.
The online BS that happens when you run for office or attempt to rise above and do something noteworthy of any merit means that many people who would consider stepping up to the plate and helping out in local, state, or national politics means you end up with problems as we face in our current race for Presidency, which I believe I’ve rambled about enough.
Yet I look at seven people who are dedicated enough to where we live speaks volumes about how on a local level, a few are at least willing to rise about the nonsense and try and solve problems instead of bickering about them to no end and without doing anything constructive.
Yes, the County Commission chose Jordan Hubbard out of the group to take over the seat. It was an easy decision for commissioners to make in the time frame allotted, and since it is an election year his term may be short in the seat.
Congratulations, Jordan. I’d say more, but you’ve read enough about it at this point, and you have work to do. 🙂
But I want to focus on something else about the process people seem to forget.
What do we do with the other six people who want to do something good for the community and are willing to lead?
Should we not put the knowledge and talents of someone like Janet Jolly Edwards toward good use on a Citizen’s Committee for Recreation and Outdoor Preservation in Polk? How about James Vines heading up a Committee on Police and Community Relations to utilize his previous his law enforcement experience?
Maybe Andrew Carter can work with me and other media outlets in Polk on a joint committee for public interaction with local government?
How about teaming up candidates Deborah Connelly and Jose Iglesias on a community task force on finances and cost-cutting measures, maybe even finally looking at areas of consolidation that make sense?
From what she presented during the forum, it sounds a lot to me like Derinda Stephens has a lot more ideas on the growth issues we’re facing than many of us do, so why not get her working with some folks on a committee and get a realistic plan together to tackle the growth we face.
I have this philosophical bent I try to share with every candidate I speak with now, either by appointment or on the ballot: if you don’t think this is going to be fun or you don’t enjoy the work of being in a leadership position and making the tough choices, get out. We need serious people at a time when we have serious problems and must make decisions that impact thousands of people, sometimes millions more. If you can’t be serious or only in it for yourself because you want to feel important, you like to have a title? Get out. This is not a job to be taken lightly. You are never paid enough to make the rough calls. And everyone wants to gripe at you about it.
We are not immune to the range of issues of the world beyond our county borders. Fentanyl and Meth continue to drag many of the people we love into the depths of despair, and sometimes untimely deaths. Health issues remain a top problem and cancer is all too common. Infrastructure issues persist here as much as they do around the country. Preserving the environment for future generations must be always in balance with the short-term goals of who is here in the moment.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: we are at the end of the line for Metro Atlanta. The Alabama state line is just miles down the road from the house, and it’s a pretty decent trip to the downtown Varsity from here.
Rockmart/Aragon is the furthest a commuter can go west and hit I-75 or 278 in the morning to get into Atlanta, and I’m guessing Southern Polk County is about as far away from I-20 as you can get and make it to the office on time and not get into the crush of rush hour traffic.
Paulding County went through this in the past few decades, drastically increasing its population and becoming a bedroom community before our eyes. Guess what? Buildable land is about used up over there. The people are coming, and we aren’t ready.
We need citizens to get involved, and leaders like all seven of those who stepped up for consideration of the county commission seat just to fill the time through year’s end. I can usually on my hands and feet count the number of people who actively are involved all across the county, not just focused on the prosperity of Cedartown or Rockmart, or anywhere else. They don’t care about rivalry, or longstanding fiefdoms in one spot or the next. They just want to get things done and bring prosperity to Polk.
Polk County has been on the radar for a while now, but the next steps are being taken toward becoming part of the metroplex as more and more national chains find their spots along intersections or around established shopping areas in Cedartown and Rockmart. The SOLARCYCLE announcement on Thursday now brings another reason why Polk is about to start seeing the cycle speed up.
There’s work to be done, Polk. So let’s put the people who want to do it to some good use before it is too late.
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