PROMISES, PROMISES. . .

We, as elected officials, have a complicated relationship with our constituents.  As candidates, promises are made and then oftentimes broken once the candidate is sworn into office and policies are debated and voted on.  Because of the broken promises, our constituents become disillusioned with their city, state, and nationally-elected officials, who are supposed to have their best interests in mind, because they feel disrespected and ignored.  From that disillusionment, extreme positions develop because our constituents want to be heard and have their opinions validated.  So, because only extreme opinions get most of the attention, people gravitate to the extreme.  Today, it seems there is no middle ground.  The middle ground voices have been silenced, being drowned out by the extreme voices. 

Elected officials, candidates, and constituents need to listen to each other carefully.  It is not okay to treat people like their opinions do not matter.  They do matter.  It is up to us as elected officials to listen.  A complaint I often hear is that politicians do more talking than listening.  So, let’s listen to all of our constituents – extreme voices and not so extreme voices.  Our constituents share a responsibility in this relationship also, because there is nothing to hear if there is no voice.   We need to hear as many voices as possible.  When our constituents feel respected and heard, there may be no reason for extreme positions.

The bottom line is that in our system, to be heard, we must vote.  That is how we are all heard as a collective voice.  Even though our system of election is not perfect, if we do not vote, we will never have a voice.  Be an informed voter.  Gather the facts and weigh the issues as to what is most important to you.  Try to distinguish facts from “fake news” or “alternative” facts.  Then, vote for the candidates who most closely match your ideas for our City, County, State, and Country.  Let’s wish all of the candidates running for office the best of luck.  It is not an easy task to run for elected office, and I am sure that all of the candidates have the best intentions for their constituents.

As always, you can reach me at cmahanpour@fostercity.org with any comments or if you would like to gather facts or history on any issue facing our City before or after the election.