Mark Maynard: Some advice for those many filers: 1/28/10

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January 27, 2010

Anonymous The Daily Independent Wed Jan 27, 2010, 11:49 PM EST

Tuesday was the last day for election filing and the rush of candidates willing to throw their hats in the ring gives reason for pause.

The late flurry, added to the huge list of those who filed earlier, is going to make for some interesting primary elections come May and then even more so for the November elections.

It shows, as citizen stakeholders in our communities, that not everybody is happy with the status quo. Do we even know where our cities and counties are going in the short term and the long term?

With our local and national economy still flatlined, as it were, government leaders seem to be holding on for dear life.

I suppose, if you were ever going to get into politics, now may be a good time. Change seems to be the buzzword. Maybe that’s why there are so many are running for elected office on both the local and state level. There were 230 Kentuckians who signed up to run for the state legislature.

In the Senate, 20 Democrats and 29 Republicans filed for 19 seats — those in even-numbered districts — up for election. The House saw 91 Democratic and 92 Republican candidates file for the 100 seats up for election.

Locally, every county looks to have spirited primary races ahead in nearly every area. Some of the names are newcomers and some are familiar.

My advice to all: Go in with a plan. That would be the challenge to current and would-be government leaders to show how they can make life better for the people of their state and community. It’s more than just jobs, although that should be paramount. Quality-of-life issues can encompass a lot of areas including economy, education, health and recreation, government services and other areas.

If you’re a local politician, understand that a lot of what can and will happen goes through Frankfort, which goes through Washington. But if you don’t have a grassroots plan, then nothing’s going to grow. Strong local leadership is more likely to get some of those tax dollars returned home.

You need to know not only what’s wrong with your community but what’s right. Examine the pluses and minuses and put together a realistic plan based on that. Politicians need to be salesmen, not only for votes but for short- and long-term projects. Have a plan or you’ll be spinning your wheels ineffectively.

Hopefully, as the local and state politicians begin their campaigning, they will go out into the public to show that they have a plan for making the quality of life better in the communities they serve.

And hopefully, as voters, we pay attention during the next few months and put the people in office who are going to do whatever they can to make their community not only survive but thrive.

Good luck to everybody.

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.

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