Candidates and council need to commit to committees
To the editor:
The current extensive list of candidates has the same bullet points, fliers, signs and ideas. There isn’t much that separates the candidates so what is the average citizen to do in sorting out the possibilities? I propose that each candidate and council member respond to these questions:
Question: Should advisory committees be brought back, how would they be staffed, how would they function within the council decision-making process?
Question: What resources will you as a candidate use to vet and make decisions and how will you develop consensus within the council without violating the sunshine laws. In other words, how will you actually function as a council member? Action, not words.
Question: Are you an out-of-the-box thinker or a “go-along-to-get-along” kind of person? In other words, will you challenge data presented to you and push to ask questions until you have a good feeling about the material in front of you or do you just cave in just to keep things moving?
Question: What resources do you rely on when making decisions when it is outside of your “wheelhouse?” How do people influence you in a decision situation?
Question: How do you plan to be effective and communicate with other members of the council in accordance to the Sunshine Law? Do you think it’s acceptable to blame the lack of information and consensus on the Sunshine Law?
Candidates should have covered these types of questions about how they can do the job, not just stating the obvious with no action plan.
Answers should not be resume items but actionable methods on moving forward.
How can a council member ask questions when they don’t know what to ask? If a member wants more information who vets that information to make sure it is unbiased and accurate? Committees can provide this information as well as act as an intermediary that collects public sentiment and presents that information. It should be composed of knowledgeable individuals that have no skin in the game when it comes to providing information.
Our federal system has many committees for the Senate, and the House. The state system uses committees as well. These committees seek public input on what should be done and the priorities. The committees bring educated information and oversight to the individual representatives. They have the time to pull together all the information and if the committee is well balanced the result should be unbiased information to the council of the whole. There should be an understanding of all aspects of a decision that affect social, monetary and how residents are affected as a whole.
It wasn’t that long ago that our city had committees but when a few decided to hold the entire city’s path, taxation and future direction in their hands alone, the committees were abandoned. Spending became rampant with minimal oversight.
Prior to Oct. 24 the council of the whole should take a final vote on bringing the committees back. By doing so the incumbents are putting action before words and making a commitment. Each council member and the Mayor need to be on record and move this issue to completion with a committed timeline. Candidates should address this issue as well.
J. Caplin
Cape Coral
Editor’s note: While we do not typically post letters to The Breeze Facebook page, we will share this one for candidates or sitting council members who choose to weigh in.