Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Ideology vs. Practicality
I was out at a bus stop this morning, talking to voters, answering questions, saying hello, and I ran into someone who was supporting another candidate (Lisa). Always interested in people's thought process, I asked what the guy liked about her.
He mentioned her eloquence (which I agree with) and her pro-housing stance on the planning commission (which I agree with her stated philosophies, but wonder how effectively they were implemented on the planning commission.. but I didn't say anything about that)
I mentioned that I agreed with Lisa about the needs for afordable housing and that we agreed on most of the ways to get there... and then I started talking about how I felt the job was a lot more about customer service and representation instead of ideology (especially since most of the candidates agree on philosophy) and this guy strongly disagreed.
Interestingly, he said that this district is "doing just fine. There's a lot of wealthy people here. What's most important for this district is to create a progressive majority at the BOS. This district is fine." That's where the conversation ended, as he had to get on the bus... but I guess it would have ended anyway.
It's funny how people see even these local political issues in this simple black and white... or should I say green and blue (for democrat?) I bet my bus stop friend would put Peskin into that progressive camp at the BOS... yet he got elected as neighborhood guy, coming from the community groups. We need to get away from the us vs. them mentality and start focusing on the problems vs. the people.
I was out at a bus stop this morning, talking to voters, answering questions, saying hello, and I ran into someone who was supporting another candidate (Lisa). Always interested in people's thought process, I asked what the guy liked about her.
He mentioned her eloquence (which I agree with) and her pro-housing stance on the planning commission (which I agree with her stated philosophies, but wonder how effectively they were implemented on the planning commission.. but I didn't say anything about that)
I mentioned that I agreed with Lisa about the needs for afordable housing and that we agreed on most of the ways to get there... and then I started talking about how I felt the job was a lot more about customer service and representation instead of ideology (especially since most of the candidates agree on philosophy) and this guy strongly disagreed.
Interestingly, he said that this district is "doing just fine. There's a lot of wealthy people here. What's most important for this district is to create a progressive majority at the BOS. This district is fine." That's where the conversation ended, as he had to get on the bus... but I guess it would have ended anyway.
It's funny how people see even these local political issues in this simple black and white... or should I say green and blue (for democrat?) I bet my bus stop friend would put Peskin into that progressive camp at the BOS... yet he got elected as neighborhood guy, coming from the community groups. We need to get away from the us vs. them mentality and start focusing on the problems vs. the people.
