The Crying Game

In many respects, politics is the art of compromise. Sometimes it is compromise on what projects or services tax dollars are going to be spent on. And sometimes the compromises are on issues that follow ideologies, such as funding social programs versus roads and bridges. This is why during an election season, candidates need to be pressed much harder on what they believe the roll of government is so we can understand their reactions. Understanding the nature of a candidate is critical to understanding how they would perform for the people once elected. Since candidates are rarely questioned on real issues during campaign "debates," we believe that voters find it difficult to make this kind of determination. Understanding the nature of a candidate is also critical to knowing if they will be able to help make a governing body move in a positive direction, or if they will kick the sand, grab their toys, and storm out of the sandbox.

It seems that the nature of newly elected City Commissioner Art Otero has begun to surface. At last week's meeting, Commissioner Otero became very upset when the other Commissioners were reluctant to sign on to his ideas for spending tax money on our local airport that at this time covers all of its own costs. "You guys are just shutting the door on me. I’m just looking for an opportunity," he cried as the other commissioners gave a negative response to the idea that he be appointed the Airport Czar since our form of government does not allow commissioners to micro-manage staff, which he seemed to not understand. He also did not seem to understand the reluctance of the rest of the commission that spending tax money to fulfill his campaign promises was probably not the best position for the city to take.

Hence we see two problems that have developed because of the lack of vetting during our local election cycles. The first of which is the character and nature of elected officials. In the movie "The Crying Game", the main character Fergus is told a story about a frog and a scorpion: the scorpion, wishing to cross a stream, asked the frog to let him ride his back over the stream. When the frog asked the scorpion how he could be sure that the scorpion would not sting him, the scorpion replied that if he did sting him, it would mean death by drowning for both of them. The frog complies, carrying the scorpion on its back across the stream. Before they reach the other side, however, the frog feels pain and realizes that the scorpion has stung him. He protests, "Why did you sting me, Mr. Scorpion? For now we both will drown!" The scorpion replies, "I can't help it, it's in my nature." The moral of the story is that people tend to do what is in their nature. It was in Illinois Governor Blagojevich's nature to abuse his power granted him by those who elected him. It was not the position, the title, or that politicians are all bad that made this happen. It was the person and what was in his nature to do. So we have to wonder if Commissioner Otero's nature will be to cry and storm off when a political issue does not go his way? There were signs of his temperament issues during his last campaign that the Osceola News Gazette decided not to report on, so we have to wonder if he would have been elected if these issues were known? The WayneWho staff believes that Commissioner Otero needs to be aware, if this is his nature, and if it is, he should work to channel it into viral passion for the betterment of our entire community. Instead of being upset that he may not have won this battle, the discussion on the airport was not all that negative. Other commissioners brought up ideas that were just as important to the economic success of our city, so maybe instead of making snotty statements, look for compromises. If some believe that other areas of our city need help first, use some of that channeled passion on helping to accomplish those goals to further ones promised during a campaign. In the end, the nature of an individual politician should succumb to the nature of politics which is the nature of compromise.

The second problem that this tantrum shows us is that the vetting process needs to become much tougher during local election cycles. While the WayneWho staff believes that Commissioner Otero rightfully belongs in his elected position, we are very concerned that his one issue campaign was never fully challenged. Why did no one ask the question "How are you going to pay for expanding the airport?" or "Since the economy appears to be falling apart, what specific things will you do to 'bring in jobs' if the Airport expansion cannot be done?" What really scares us is that the election going on in St. Cloud right now is suffering from the same lack of vetting that most Osceola County seats suffer from which leads to the same mistakes being made time and time again. We can only hope that those asking the questions during this election, and all of those coming up, will learn that their roll in the process is of critical importance instead of letting the behind the scenes special interest groups play king/queen makers. If a candidate says they are going to 'cut the fat,' ask them what specific projects they consider fat. If they say they are going to bring jobs into the area, ask them what specific steps they would take to make that happen. Don't let the candidates off the hook if they start to sound stupid, push them for an answer. After all, it is the nature of 'reporters' to ask tough questions even if they feel like a sharp sting to those being asked. The rest of us would appreciate this because we would not like to drown.