CHRISTY: Replenishing the talent pool

April 24, 2008 03:26 pm

— This is Western New York, and the line between sports and politics is very fine. In fact, people cannot often discern where that line is. We are rabid fans of both professions indeed.
Last year at this time I pointed out that the NFL would make a good model for politics to follow. It’s the healthiest of all professional sports with a constantly-growing fan base, increasing revenue and a stability which is the envy of any multi-billion dollar corporation.
This is the weekend of the NFL draft. A time when all teams, no matter how successful, openly plan for a 30% roster turnover. And the NFL actually televises their search for talent at its annual draft of college players. There are no hurt feelings. No clinging to nostalgia of what a player has done for a team in the past. It’s all about winning because there is big money at stake every year.
The equivalent in politics is the petition and candidate selection process, which will kick off locally in June. By the time November comes, and you’re wondering why you’re left with the choices you are left with you can look back to right now. November is the Super Bowl; the petition process is the draft.
Unfortunately, this is where the similarities between the successful business model that is the NFL and the fiefdoms crafted by politicians - at least in New York - ends. For the NFL, talent rules the market. In NY politics, rules and regulations dominate the process to such an extent that while it’s technically possible for any person to run for office it’s practically impossible for an outsider to survive. It’s absolutely impossible without a good lawyer by your side. What does that say about the system?
So, color me skeptical that any real change is going to come at the voting booth. “Throw the bums out” is maybe the worst rallying cry we have around here. First, they’re not bums, so that’s insulting. But second, it puts off any personal action to some future time. And while we love putting things off, it’s not a successful business strategy. So, we need to work with the elected officials we have, and demand specific, measurable actions.
Along this line of thinking, one thing our community needs to do is get behind one idea at a time, and demand action on that one idea. We can’t let the rodeo clown issues distract us from a common agenda.
Scientists tell us that a flashlight and a laser beam are the same thing - a beam of light. But while the flashlight illuminates, the laser can cut through steel. The main difference between the two is focus. The same light, focused to such a high intensity and directed towards an object, cuts through it.
It’s safe to say we’re in the flashlight phase of politics right now. We’re illuminating many things locally that are not sitting well with people. But the system can withstand a flashlight, counting on the batteries running out eventually (the light will, of course, have to be run on batteries since the politicians control the electric generating facility in Lewiston!). We’ve got to find a way to magnify and concentrate the light into a laser.
The flashlight phase is not horrible. It’s certainly brought us together and we’ve been making strides towards common ground. The progress of the public towards a common agenda was so strong that politicians needed to take control of a local not-for-profit in order to dictate who could and couldn’t appear on television and what issues could and couldn’t be discussed. Dick Green and Scott Leffler will openly tell you about all the calls they’ve fielded over the last few years attempting to boycott or silence our hometown radio station. And we know that when a newspaper editorializes against anyone in power they are guaranteed to get several calls from the regional hierarchy complaining about unfair treatment.
If you’re looking for signs of success in a people’s revolt against the status quo, you don’t have to look much further than actions like this! Someone inside the machine is surely running scared at this point.
If the rules are stacked against common citizens running for public office, it’s time to demand that the elected officials change the rules. And there is no better time to demand change then when those elected officials are seeking reelection. It will take focus; it will take getting everyone on the same page, asking for the same exact change.
It’s been heartening to see the communities rally around the issue of free speech. It’s highlighted our denial of the hazardous waste issue, our floundering economic development model, and our local polarized control of government, most notably the county ethics panel. It’s unsure whether we’re taking steps towards changing WNY, but at least we’re up and standing at this point.
Tom Christy is the founder of FAIR Government, a non-political and non-editorial educational foundation dealing with local government issues. www.fair-government.org. He encourages communication and can be reached via e-mail at aim1986@mac.com.

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