Thoughts on Asheville City Council Primaries

asheville | elections | commentary Friday October 12, 2007 13:23 by Christopher Tiongson chenzira at gmail dot com

To get to a point where one loses so much ground... that simply being yourself is considered a revolution.

A very important thing I hit upon in my life was this thought that I came across while writing… "to get to a point where one loses so much ground… that simply being yourself is considered a revolution."

When it comes to political elections, the emphasis on opinion, which I've seen in local publications and social circles, is completely irrelevant. Save them for public hearings and letters to representatives. The results are in, and that's a reflection of how well and what the 38% of the registered voting population is doing. Where is the other 62%?

I've worked in Boston politics and have seen candidates who were considered by the news as unlikely winners — i.e., Maura Hennigan and Felix Arroyo — and coming out in slots 2 and 3 out of 4 for city council. There was heavy emphasis on getting that missing percentage to the voting booth as well as strong voter registration drives. People weren't coaxed into voting for either candidate. Simply put: People were fed up with the misrepresentation, or I should say, lack of representation, at City Hall. With information and involvement, and not just opinions, the people voted back Boston. The City could no longer ignore its disenfranchised communities and community leaders anymore.

Now, it is a rare gift when a straight-shooting candidate, like Lindsey Simerly, comes along. She's been considered too left, too radical, and too young. Going beyond opinion, her campaign was funded not by money (having spent less than $250; other campaign donations were put to good use in organizations such as Food Not Bombs, etc.) but funded by people and passion… the passion to do the right thing by going into the belly of the beast in City Hall… beginning action even in the process of campaigning.

But first, we must consider principle through action. Other candidates boast environment-friendly measures in principle. Through action, there are hundreds of production-scale signs and thousands of literature pieces mailed out. Lindsey's campaign re-used salvaged materials to make her yard signs not out of rebellion or to be unique… simply because it was sensible and environmentally respectful. This is simply who Lindsey is at heart.

Just because some of us have lost the ability to stand up for ourselves, disenfranchised by our local government's direction and destination, doesn't mean we should stand in the way of someone who wants to do something about everything. To help us see that we've lost our bearing… and that representing ourselves at the core level extended out to our own government is not a matter of being too "left"… but that we've looked too far to the right for too long for answers. To place trust in her for all the gradual, real changes in her tenure that would leave the city better off than when she started.

Political representation is not a one dimensional course with only two possibilities… but that it has depth and more dimensions. When we've allowed ourselves to get to a point where representing ourselves is considered a revolution, then we've allowed things to go too far.

And perhaps when that time comes when each and every one of us have all represented ourselves and approach politics in its true scope, perhaps we won't blow off another candidate who can honestly make a difference.