A few days ago we looked at the candidates for the Traffic and Parking Commission and today I wanted to lay out the qualities I am looking for in a Commission member.
INTERESTS OF THE CITY
The most important qualification for sitting on a Committee, Commission, or the Council is your unwavering commitment to do the best for the City as a whole. Lots of decisions have to be made that disappoint or disadvantage one group over the next. For example, if you vote to issue a parking permit, one group is delighted but the other people who now have to search farther for a parking space are not happy.
I’m not looking for people with narrow interests, or special interests, or who accept favors from special groups. This is even more problematic when people accept money from special interests, as some of our Council members do, or when Council members try to appoint people because they contributed to their campaigns or work for the people who contributed to their campaigns.
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COMMON SENSE
The second most important factor any government official can have is just plain common sense. It’s lacking in so many elected and appointed officials which is what accounts for why governments often perform the way they do.
ABILITY TO FORECAST
The other day one of my colleagues on the Council recommended that we “wait and see”, instead of anticipating the likely scenarios and planning for them. That same Council member, a few years ago, wanted to complete building a road (Saddleback Ranch Rd) that nearly everyone assured us was going to be dangerous and cause accidents and possibly injuries/death. “Let’s wait and see what happens” was his advice.
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I’m looking for people who don’t instinctively “wait and see” and who can carry out their thoughts to the logical conclusion, and then act on those thoughts. Good chess players have this ability.
DOERS, NOT TALKERS
There are plenty of people who'll give you their opinion, usually a complaint, but few people who get anything accomplished. I'm always looking for doers.
THINK ON YOUR FEET
When you sit on a Council, Commission, HOA Board or similar position the issues are not necessarily clear cut. You may go into a meeting with one point of view, but after listening to others, you may have to re-assess your thoughts and be prepared to take a different action than the one you originally came into the meeting with. Some people do a good job preparing for meetings, but get overwhelmed in the middle of a meeting with their ability to absorb new information. Traffic and Parking are complex issues. We need someone who can think on their feet.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
It always amuses me that people seem to come from nowhere and want to be on the City Council or on a Commission. They’ve never been to a Council meeting, or a Commission meeting, or even been involved in their local HOA. They don’t attend City events and some have never spoken to City staff. They have no idea about our budget or about our operations and structure. But they pop up and want to be elected or appointed.
I’m looking for people who have paid their dues: people who have a good idea of how government functions and how the City works. I like to see that they have a proven track record of working with others and getting things done.
EXPERIENCE
I’m looking for an applicant to have some education, training, or experience dealing with traffic and/or parking issues. We have staff with all these qualities, so this particular aspect is not as important as some of the others I’ve listed.
So these are the qualities I’m looking for and I intend to use Tuesday night.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest where he serves as Mayor. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His Twitter handle is @DrJimGardner. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.
Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a town hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be Aug 16 at 7 pm at the Lake 1 Clubhouse (Ridge Route).
