Jaded

 

Is it Columbia election season already? I’m still getting over last year’s.

Here we go again. There are ten Columbia Villages. Each has a citizen board. In addition, each village elects a representative to the CA Board, the one that meets downtown except it hasn’t been downtown since 2015.

Every Spring there are elections and they are generally boring and uneventful although sometimes they are annoying and uneventful. Then there was last year when The Mystery Project threw a lot of money into the mix and they were far more annoying and eventful than anyone might have anticipated.

What can I tell you that I haven’t said already? I’ve served on my own Village Board and I would highly recommend the experience if you care about where you live and you want to meet more of your neighbors. On the whole Village Boards are more fun to be on and more effective if those assembled are in favor of something, rather than angry and wanting to burn it all down. 

Isn’t that true of all community endeavors?

There are caring and thoughtful and wonderful people and there are small-minded, tribal, turf-hoarding people. And they all live in your neighborhood. Whoever the people are, they can make a big difference in your community. You can make a big difference. And remember, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve lived here, no matter what anybody says.

Heck. I may be jaded on the outside but it appears I’m still mushy on the inside for the spirit of Columbia self-governance. 

Here’s some information from the Columbia Association on how to run and how to vote. This year’s elections are on April 23rd.

Columbia Elections 101.