26th Edition
Dear Mayor
Two months ago, I visited my hometown, Herkimer, NY. When I grew up there in the 60s and 70s, it was a prosperous small town of around 10,000 people. It was supported by a few local, privately-owned manufacturing firms, as well as numerous smaller, family-operated businesses. The town was safe, friendly, and despite long winters, it was a wonderful place to grow up. It had a courthouse, local jail, two cop cars, and about thirteen snowplows. Did I mention the winters were long?
As my best friend and I drove down Main Street, past abandoned buildings, broken windows, and homeless people on the sidewalk, I nearly got physically sick. How could such a prosperous small town become such a wasteland in one generation? Who is to blame and what can be done to turn it around?
So, I sent an email to the mayor to see if I could find out what happened. I wonder if she will respond…
When we see a problem in our community it seems logical to ask someone in charge about it. But then what do we do? In my email to the mayor, I asked her what I could do to help. I wonder how she will respond to that. I wonder how I’ll respond to her response…
I just finished an interesting book by John Kasich called, “It’s Up To Us.” The point of the book is very basic, yet powerful. Essentially, we are all responsible for the state of our communities, towns, cities, and country. We are in this together. In other words, we can write to our mayor or congressman, but we should be prepared to do our part once a solution to a problem is identified. Are we ready for that?
I’ve always wanted to be mayor, or maybe even a congressman, but I’ve never had the courage to run for any public office. Still, I often wonder what I would do if I were elected mayor. I know what I would focus on initially. First, I would have a conversation with every individual currently working for the town across the various areas – Administration, Fire, Town Board, Parks & Recreation, Planning, Police, and Public Works. I would want to understand their vision for the town, their short and long-term goals, perceived obstacles, and ways the mayor could help. Then I would have conversations with local community leaders from businesses, churches, schools, and anyone interested in making the town better. Through these conversations I would develop an understanding of the collective vision for the town, its strengths, weaknesses, and challenges. Ultimately, I would lead the effort to determine the town’s vision, mission, and core values, so all of us working for the town would be united in terms of goals and strategies to make the town better.
A few questions would guide that process –
Ø How are we helping those that are in need?
Ø How are we developing the next generation of leaders?
Ø What is our role in building the kingdom?
Ø What else can we do to support and promote entrepreneurship?
Ø What unites us and what divides us, and how can we focus more on the former and less on the latter?
Second, I would surround myself with the best people possible. In any organization, the effectiveness of a leader is in direct proportion to the quality of his team. I can just imagine how fun it would be to put together an awesome team of experienced and dedicated individuals all working together to accomplish common goals.
Meanwhile, as we are inundated with developments related to national politics, most of them downright depressing, local politics is largely ignored. Despite that, it is at the local level where an individual can make the most difference. It just takes awareness, commitment, and the willingness to listen and cooperate with others. How hard is that?
Maybe it’s time to develop a campaign slogan. Something that creates community-wide excitement in my upcoming campaign… I have no idea how to do that. I guess I’ll go ask the mayor…
Please help me grow my readership by forwarding this to a friend(s). In the meantime, say tuned for my next newsletter. Thanks
Michael Kayes
*These views are my personal opinions and are not the viewpoints of any company or organization.