I Face A Choice

I’ve been wrestling with the question of how much I want to get involved in local governmental issues. It would necessarily mean getting involved in local politics, and that has no appeal to me whatsoever.

I lack the qualities necessary to make a good politician. I don’t have the temperament, patience or guile to hustle votes and make coalitions. I don’t like people all that much. I’m not good at compromise—I’m more of a “my way or the highway” type of guy. I’m a poor loser, and it shows. I harbor grudges. I’m opinionated. I have trouble biting my tongue. I don’t suffer fools. My sensitivity scale only goes to 2. Fact is, I have all the makings of an asshole.

What’s even worse, I don’t like the process of local government. Having spent a good part of my career representing local governments, I have an insider’s knowledge of the way it works. To be brutally honest, I hate the bullshit, bickering, indecision, ass-covering, vote-mongering, compromise solutions, interminable meetings and often irrational decision-making that goes hand-in-hand with the process of local government. It was tough enough to deal with that crap when I was getting paid a high hourly rate to sit there and observe to it.

At its best, hometown democracy is a messy and inefficient way of getting things done. There were many times as a city attorney I was tempted to scream out in frustration, “We’ve beat this horse to death. Can’t we move on?” I believe I’ve seen more dead horses than most veterinarians.

It was agony for me to have to sit in city meetings and listen to local politicians and citizens droning on and on. In many cases, their comments reminded me of drunks wandering away from a lamppost; only by the grace of God did they ever get back to the point they started. Most irritating were the “three lapper” speakers who insisted on making the same point three times. I would sit there and count the laps. I don’t understand why people think that repeating themselves makes for a more persuasive argument.

What bothered me the most is that almost everyone at a commission meeting, politicians and public alike, feels compelled to get their two cents in regardless of whether it contributes to the discussion or the point has already been made. Hell for me would be having to sit through a never ending city commission meeting.

I thought I was done with that stuff when I retired and moved to Green Acres. But then I discovered there are issues here that affect me, and they primarily involve the growth and development of Fannin County and the City of Blue Ridge.

Fannin County is going to become a popular place in the next ten years. The Wall Street Journal has called Blue Ridge one of the ten best small towns for retirees. There are plenty of people who want to retire to the quiet tranquility and small town atmosphere of this area. That certainly was one of my prime motivations.

It doesn’t take an oracle to predict that the population of Fannin County will double in the next ten years. Growth and development are inevitable. If that growth is not intelligently controlled, Fannin County and Blue Ridge will become just another trash heap along the path of progress. That threatens the way of life I sought when I moved here.

As a city attorney and litigator, I lived through the growth and development wars that marked the west coast of Florida for the last 30 years. I’ve experienced the nastiness and ugliness that accompanies battles between the pro- and anti-development factions within a small community. I’ve seen small beach towns go from quaint Gulf-front communities to wall-to-wall condos and tourist hotels. I’ve know what happens when uncontrolled growth occurs.

Along the way I acquired a lot of knowledge and experience about local governmental matters in general and growth, planning, zoning and land use issues in particular. I’ve litigated these issues, worked with land use planners, zoning administrators and building officials and drafted zoning ordinances. I’m conceited enough to think that I can make a real contribution to the future of Blue Ridge and Fannin County.

Moreover, I know that the time to address these issues is now, before the big wave of growth and development hits.

I also know that convincing local politicians and the public that real change is needed is going to be difficult. I think there is a tendency around here to resist change and believe in the old ways of doing things. Believe me, the old ways will not work when developers start zeroing in on Fannin County.

So I’m torn between sitting this fight out and enjoying my retirement years or getting involved. Tough choice.