Monks Jazz Club
In Our City Leaders We Want ...
RECEIVED Mon., Dec. 6, 2004
Dear Editor,
I am part of a small business group that asks the same question as Mike Clark-Madison ["Austin@Large," News, Dec. 3]: "What do we want our City Council members to do?"
What we are coming up with is this: We want the best and brightest of those willing and able to reconcile economic vitality with quality of life. We want them to streamline business regulation without unreasonably increasing risk to the public. To encourage development with minimum damage to the environment and cost to the community. To promote affordable housing. To improve the downtown business environment but also keep commercial rents affordable. To maximize the perception of safety in the entertainment districts while providing reasonable support for the homeless. To make traffic go faster. To make parking more friendly. To spend our tax dollars as efficiently as possible. Yadda yadda yadda.
We seem to have consensus in Austin on what we all want. The challenge is figuring out which candidates are best able to get us there. Who best understands the obstacles we have and why they exist? Who knows what remedies have worked in other communities? Who is best able to achieve consensus and action?
We want to help elect leaders who will immerse themselves in the complex issues, search out creative solutions, and seek out fair compromises that reflect our wonderfully diverse community.
I am part of a small business group that asks the same question as Mike Clark-Madison ["Austin@Large," News, Dec. 3]: "What do we want our City Council members to do?"
What we are coming up with is this: We want the best and brightest of those willing and able to reconcile economic vitality with quality of life. We want them to streamline business regulation without unreasonably increasing risk to the public. To encourage development with minimum damage to the environment and cost to the community. To promote affordable housing. To improve the downtown business environment but also keep commercial rents affordable. To maximize the perception of safety in the entertainment districts while providing reasonable support for the homeless. To make traffic go faster. To make parking more friendly. To spend our tax dollars as efficiently as possible. Yadda yadda yadda.
We seem to have consensus in Austin on what we all want. The challenge is figuring out which candidates are best able to get us there. Who best understands the obstacles we have and why they exist? Who knows what remedies have worked in other communities? Who is best able to achieve consensus and action?
We want to help elect leaders who will immerse themselves in the complex issues, search out creative solutions, and seek out fair compromises that reflect our wonderfully diverse community.
Paul Silver
