by Velva Rowell
Welcome to the biennial election issue of the Old Mountain View Neighborhood Association Newsletter! This is the issue where we give our candidates for city council the opportunity to provide a statement that will tell you more about who they are and why they are the right person to represent us on the Mountain View City Council. I hope that you will take the time to read these statements.
It is important to our city that we vote in this election because this is the year that four of the seven seats on the council are in transition. The fact that our majority council election coincides with what is arguably the most important Presidential election of my lifetime just underscores my personal need to participate in this vital political process.
I was raised to believe that my vote counts – always. I believe that the right to vote is also a responsibility. I honestly believe that it will make a difference if I don’t vote.
I am aware that this runs counter to the current conventional wisdom. There are those who will tell me that the Electoral College ensures that my vote really won’t count for much. Some will tell me that I am naïve to think that I can make a difference just by voting.
The fact of the matter is that in a representative government we all have our jobs to do. My job as a voter is to educate myself to the best of my ability and to vote in a way that reflects my conscience and what I believe is best for myself, my neighbors, my state, and my country. I don’t get to do my job more than once or twice a year. That doesn’t make it any less mine.
Our neighborhood has a tradition of political involvement and activism that continually inspires me. My neighbors hold strong beliefs and many of them are not shy about expressing those beliefs. I attended our biennial candidate forum the other night, listening to the questions posed by my neighbors and the thoughtful answers provided by our council candidates and walked away with an overwhelming sense of relief.
I know one thing about all of these candidates now – they care deeply for our city and want to serve on council to the best of their ability. This is reassuring in a time when it is very easy to be cynical about the political process. I will vote for the four candidates who I believe best represent me, and you will too. Then, when the votes are counted, I believe that the process will work. We will have seven people willing to provide servant leadership to this city who represent all our needs.
I hope I’m right.
