 |
Randy Foster |
By Randy Foster - 1. Congress -- The Metro Council is the legislative branch of the
Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Federal
issues often impact local government, but rarely does the Council need
to opine on the federal affairs of the day. If you want to reform
healthcare or balance the federal budget, you should set your aim higher
and leave the Council to those who want to affect local land use or
decide how local government spends money.
2. The Tennessee General Assembly -- See #1 above. If your political
interests run to regulating guns or outlawing abortion, you may find the
Metro Council to be a narrow playing field.
3. A partisan body -- In the Council chamber, there are no Democrats
and no Republicans (although partisan politics sometimes intrudes).
Some might argue that the Council is primarily populated by members of
the “Know-Nothing” Party, but I would disagree! The Metro Charter is
clear that candidates run in nonpartisan races. Pragmatic, nonpartisan
politics means that a new coalition is formed for each vote, and you
will be surprised who your allies may be. The old saw that “politics
makes for strange bedfellows” could have been written with the Metro
Council in mind.
4. The Executive Branch of Metro Government -- Councilmembers do not
fill potholes, mow weeds, operate parks, fix stormwater problems, pick
up the trash, teach our children, put out fires, patrol our streets,
lend out books, represent the Metropolitan Government in court, or do
the thousands of other things that are the responsibility of the
Executive Branch, i.e., in most cases, the Mayor. If you want to be
Mayor, file a qualifying petition, pull several hundreds of thousands of
dollars out of your mattress, and go for it!
5.A springboard to higher office (for most people) -- Walk around the
committee rooms and common areas of the Council office, and you will see
framed Council District maps surrounded by the faces of Councilmembers
you’ve never heard of, who came and went with hardly a peep. A relative
few have gone to the General Assembly with a few more going to
positions on the bench. But no Mayors…no Congressmen. A Councilmember
is well served by remembering the humbling fact that, if someone shows
him or her respect, it is likely he or she was likely mistaken for
someone else far more important.
6. A place to become famous or popular -- People will curse you, revile
you, mistrust you, and say upon first meeting you that you are “bought
and paid for.” Neighbors will line up on both sides of an issue with
you squarely between the rock and the hard place. You family will
wonder who you’ve become and will make a life without you. And for all
this, you’ll be paid a whopping $15,000 a year before taxes and spend
your life at Council meetings, committee meetings, Planning Commission
meetings, Traffic and Parking Commission meetings, Greenway Commission
meetings, ribbon cuttings, office hours, constituent meetings, 9/11
observances, and Boy Scout and Girl Scout awards ceremonies. Also,
you’ll think your phone has grown to your ear, and you’ll read thousands
of emails. Oh, and don’t forget the time you’ll spend reading analyses
of legislation and all the mail that Councilmembers are heir to. If
elected, you’ll find that only 39 other people will really understand
what you’re facing, i.e. the other members. Treasure them!
7. Your personal fiefdom -- I am not the Earl of Sevenmile Creek
(although I think it would be a pretty title). You will not be royalty
or nobility. You will, I hope, be a servant of the people you
represent. A lack of humility and communication can lead to disastrous
relationships with your constituents. It has been frequently been said
that you can vote for just about anything and not irretrievably alienate
your constituents if you will (a) return your calls, (b) return your
emails, and (c) not get crosswise with your constituents over zoning
issues.
Service on the Metro Council is a high calling and a heady experience,
and I am deeply honored and humbled to have been elected twice to
represent my neighbors. Having tread for a while the path that the 13th
Metropolitan Council will continue, I recommend to those who will
follow me the ancient words of Proverbs 16:18 which could have been
written for all politicians everywhere: “Pride goes before destruction, a
haughty spirit before a fall.”
Randy Foster is a former member of the Metro Council. This was written by Randy several years ago but is as true now as then. I also once served on the Metro Council and agree with everything he says. I wish every council member would read this essay, especially those newly elected members, and take it to heart.
Top Stories