Watched the inaugural city council gathering that kicked off the next four years of Minden’s new administration the other night to see how the five fresh faces sitting up front would mesh. It may seem a trivial thing, but congratulations to this group by reversing a previous years-long addiction and giving unanimous approval to the minutes of previous meeting. Scratch one pet peeve.
Of course that seemingly insignificant vote won’t mean much to the majority of onlookers, but it does seem to cut a slice outta one rumor that has been floating since election day. Some who claim to have ears to the ground were hinting that at least one of the new members would be dedicated (as in, dictated) to continue trends of the past, including voting “no” as often as possible for no apparent reason.
Even though nothing appeared on the agenda that required a tough decision, the mayor and council seemed to be comfortable in their chairs. Of course that might change in the wink of an issue, and it will be interesting to see how these councilfolks interact when there’s a difference of opinion. Here’s hoping all this campaign talk of unity was more than stringing a few words together to make a sentence.
Remember what we’ve said in the past about the differences in promise makers and promise keepers. We believe there’s plenty of promise for Minden. Those who have been entrusted with leadership can help us meet and exceed our potential and move the train forward, or they can foster an atmosphere of complacency that leads nowhere.
We’re looking forward, during the next four years, to plenty of positives about which to observe from our rocker. We don’t expect our city government folks to constantly present us a chorus of Kumbaya, but neither do we wish to see a repeat of the past when something as simple as a request to accept grant (free) money was refused.
It pains a life-long Democrat to quote a member of the friendly opposition, but Ronald Reagan perhaps put it best when talking about accomplishing anything. “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit,” The Gipper said.
Etch that in stone beside the city’s logo and forget about social media selfies. We, the governed, are willing to help.
— Pat Culverhouse
