By Matt Starr – Mount Vernon Republican Mayoral Candidate (Paid political advertisement)
Running for Mayor has been exhilarating. While meeting people at events, pounding the pavement knocking on doors reminding neighbors to be sure to go vote, and spending a great deal of time thinking about Mount Vernon, I must confess that I believe our future is brighter than what we might expect. Certainly in politics, candidates are asked a variety of questions that sometimes we know the answer and sometimes we do not. Our vision of the future is important, yet the questions about this are more essential than the answers.
For those of you who missed the Republican Mayoral Debate, we were asked questions that public office holders have endured since the beginning of time such as “What are we going to do about the infrastructure?” “How shall we handle the drug problem?” “What will you do to develop the economy?” (You can watch or listen to that discussion on demand.) Then, like a lightning bolt from the sky, Mount Vernon News Editor, Samantha Scoles, asked a question that is rarely asked of government officials. “If money were no option, what would you do for the City?”
Whoa! Stop the presses! That is a question about which I have been thinking since she asked. This is not the kind of question that we typically hear because we never have that luxury in government. We must account for every precious tax dollar. However, as a producer and independent filmmaker, we ask this question first when telling a story because “story” is most important. Obviously, we adjust a budget to make the film, but it begins with an overreaching lofty vision. After thinking of this question as it applies to Mount Vernon, I have written close to five pages of ideas that could transform the community if money were no obstacle. For the purposes of this article, I am keeping them to myself for now because they are only my ideas. More important than the ideas we can generate is to ask ourselves this question periodically.
When we are not bothered by limitations like money and time, then we are free to dream. Dreaming leads to inspiration. Inspiration leads to ideas. Ideas lead to innovation. Innovation leads to action and results. Some of my ideas are far reaching that I will not see them come to fruition in my lifetime, but I am convinced that some for infrastructure, economic development, drug abuse prevention, and building a healthy rural community will happen in the next generation. That is the point of asking the question. As we think about the next twenty years, our minds shift from the here and now to imagining our city as we pass the torch to our children and grandchildren.
By asking this question, writing down our thoughts, and sharing them with others, we have the makings of a plan. By the way, we already have one; it is called the Comprehensive Plan (formerly known as Focus 2100) which began in the 1990’s. In looking at the earlier drafts of that plan, it is amazing at what we have accomplished in twenty years because community leaders bothered to write down their vision and share it.
At your next family meal, with coworkers at the water cooler, in the classroom with your peers and teacher, or in the solitude of your own home, I would challenge everyone to ask the question, “If money were no object, what would you do for the community?” Be sure to write down your thoughts. I am willing to bet that some of your ideas could happen within our lifetime which makes the future brighter than we think.
Paid for by Starr For Mayor, Brittany Whitney, Treasurer, 1104 East Chestnut Street, Mount Vernon Ohio 43050
