CULLMAN —
A day of decision arrives Tuesday for voters across the towns and cities of Cullman County.
On the ballots Aug. 28 will be the names of candidates contending for mayoral and council seats.
A series of mayoral forums concluded last week, hosted in each town or city where the mayor’s seat is contested. Attendance was good at most of the events, but even so only a small percentage of voters attended to listen to the candidates field questions.
Nevertheless, voters have the opportunity to consider some important points in making their decisions Tuesday.
Is your town growing or declining? Is your local government open and responsive to concerns of the public?
Positions of elected leadership are tougher to manage today than most people can remember. A devastating recession has depleted tax collections in many locations because of widespread unemployment and a slowdown by businesses and industries in hiring people.
While news has been somewhat encouraging of late for the nation, and perhaps better in Cullman County than many communities, providing and expanding services to the public takes a great deal of careful planning on the part of elected officials.
Some keys to good leadership include noticeable business growth, healthy budgets and reserve funds. A mayor and council who accept criticism as well as the ideas of their constituents is also a good sign that your interest comes first. And certainly elected officials can’t please everyone. And they shouldn’t expect to do so.
Fairness and a commitment to sensible, measured growth of a town are hallmarks of competent and effective leadership. A town that is dying or standing still, with overall economic conditions considered, may well need a shot of life from the voters.
Whatever you feel about your town’s leaders, Tuesday is the day for citizens to exalt their power by casting votes. The existence of these towns and all their services are because of your tax contributions and participation in community life. Show your support for a candidate and your town by voting.
Editorials
Your towns, your votes
- Editorials
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Taking the lead in education
The once-heralded ‘No Child Left Behind” education initiative from the federal level has just about run out of gas.
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Moving into the future
Hundreds of local high school seniors are accepting their diplomas and preparing to turn the page in the next chapter of their lives.
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Editorial: Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
This amounts to spying on an American news organization -- common practice in dictatorships but scary conduct in a democratic system that prizes the public value of an independent watchdog press.
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EDITORIAL: The IRS' Turn to Answer Questions
Washington is now sinking its teeth into a real scandal: the Internal Revenue Service using ideological criteria to choose the targets of its attention.
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Editorial: The house of death
The grisly details emerging from the murder trial of a Philadelphia abortion doctor place a glaring spotlight on a national disgrace.
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Editorial: Murder, insanity and guns
James Holmes, the accused movie theater shooter in Colorado, would like for the public to believe he killed a dozen people because he was insane.
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Lasting partnerships
Economic development officials have long noted the importance of expansions by existing industries and businesses in a community to lead growth.
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COMMENTARY: Why does young adult fiction keep giving its heroines makeovers?
Over at This Ain't Living, s.e. smith (who, full disclosure, has guest-blogged for me at ThinkProgress) has an excellent post about one of the most pernicious trends in young adult fiction.
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A spirit for moving forward
This weekend marked the two-year anniversary of a deadly day of tornadoes that streaked across Alabama, claiming lives and property and changing the landscape of many communities.
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Faith and bombs
The investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing is pointing to the all-too-familiar theme of religious faith playing a major role in violence.
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Taking the lead in education
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