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Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 03:36 PM CST
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( - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
As the current council elections crank up, I'm not having much regret about my decision to sit out this round. I'm not really sitting it out. I'm just not running for election myself. I do hope to make some worthwhile comments on the election, the election process, and issues facing the city.
As friends and supporters (and candidates!) check in with me to find out my plans, I do regret losing the momentum and loyalty that I built up during my campaign last year. And I miss the excitement and shared enthusiasm of the struggle. Such things fade quickly, and are not easily called back into being.
But, when I sit down to write in my journal at leisure, or take a long walk, or read a book, I feel very good about my decision not to run this time. It's not just that I'm glad to have free time, something that I certainly did not have in the crush of campaigning. More important, I'm glad to be rebuilding clarity and stability of mind. I'm restoring that stock of ideas and ideals that I drew on during the campaign.
If I do run again-and I plan to-clarity and stability will be every bit as important as the momentum and enthusiasm that are fading. Moreover, I have time now to think about the lessons I learned at a gut level during the campaign. |
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| I hope to share some of the lessons I learned with you. Friendship and loyalty have nuances and facets I didn't appreciate before. The whole forum and endorsement round is an echo chamber. The reasons people choose to support candidates are not necessarily the reasons that would lead to good government. And, of course, the structure of the council and the election cycles create their own problems.
These are some of the reasons why I think it's so hard for Austin's government to govern. And I think, compared to most cities, Austin's government does pretty well. But the gaping holes in our city's fabric, and the big disparity between the challenges of the future and our readiness to meet them, are not getting better. They're getting worse.
This is our moment. So says President Obama, and so I believe. This is my moment to think, and to restore myself, to work on projects that come to hand, and to prepare for the deeds of the moment to come. It's also a good moment to spend with friends. See you around town. |
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