Neighbor News
The Mayorship of Lake Forest
In less than one week, the City Council will be voting in a new mayor for 2016.
Historically, the role of mayor is a vital function of a healthy city. The basic duties of a mayor are to preside at Council meetings, attend city ceremonial functions, and vote as a member of the Council. While all these duties are vital, more important than these are the intangible qualities: leadership, integrity and wisdom.
I believe that the three qualities of leadership, integrity and wisdom are all dependent upon each other in a true leader. Through integrity, a true leader inspires those around him/her, displays empathy, and makes difficult decisions that are for the betterment of everyone. Wisdom is critical in bringing parties together in the policy development process. As Douglas MacArthur said:
“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.”
A leader receives authority by consent of the governed, and in Lake Forest this consent is not given; the people do not have the opportunity to elect the mayor. While this might not be uncommon for smaller cities, we can see the result of such a policy with our current leadership. When the Council majority vote themselves into positions of authority, it is not necessarily a proper representation of what the residents need.
Until residents are allowed to vote for their mayor, we will continue to face the same dysfunction we have been seeing within our City Council. The next City Council meeting is December 15, and I encourage all residents to attend and see how our Council conducts itself.
Tomorrow I will present an analysis of how well the current Mayor has done, and how well the other Council members have done in the past.
If you would like to be a part of the positive revolution for Lake Forest, please:
Join us on Facebook at “A Better Council For Lake Forest”, or
Email me at Lakeforestrecall@hotmail.com and
Visit http://citizenstoendcorruptioninlakeforest.org/
