Running For/From Office!
By: Rene Velez Feb 15th, 2010
We seem to have a flood gate open in the senate and house of political leadership that do not seek re-elections. It would seem that “running for office” just became “running from office”!
There is no question in my mind that running for re-election should at least be very interesting in the coming years. Americans are fed up with the in-ability of our elected leadership to address issues and to bring about comprehensive reform on the many issues that face this great nation. It is a difficult and treacherous path that any elected official faces in the years ahead. Politicians do not like uncertainty and do not like the odds when they are stacked against them. Loosing an election is not like simply not getting the job. It’s about loosing support and loosing your credibility. Something that lingers for years to come around your career. So politicians are rightfully fearful of the years to come.
I might be temped to call some of these politicians weak and fare weather leaders but, I feel there is more to it than that. A slow economy means shrinking political contributions to some respect. Many legislatures are aging as the baby boomer generation enters retirement age. So a natural shortage of political candidates is in the cards. Especially, when there is no honest way to make a living in politics. Here in Miami Dade county local commissioners wanted a salary. When it was put to the vote, voters voted against it. A bad decision, as a salary would have made it easier for qualified younger candidates to rely on that salary to make a living and to contribute to our community by serving.
Yet I do think there is reason to take notice of the number of politicians that will bow out in coming elections. Budget deficits, the partisan turmoil, angry voters, a bad economy, and the turmoil of reform all add up to extraordinarily hostile platforms for elected officials. Perhaps some may be thinking that they might be better able to serve on the outside than on the inside. It may well be more profitable too as many have discovered.
Academia in Public Administration
I am a firm believer in education. So it is only natural to look upon how universities can play an important role in helping create new political leadership. The benefits of universities creating new political leadership in fact may play right into their best interests. First, they stand to gain a great deal of recognition for prominent leaders. Second their graduates are more likely to vote favorably on university funding, or at minimum help raise much needed funding. An important note as education is key to maintaining corporate as well as political sustainability in the global arena in the future. Thirdly, universities can provide much needed information through research, polling and community involvement. It would be an ideal to say that universities are in a better place to bring fourth unbiased solutions to public administrative matters except that every university has its own political issues. However, given the short sighted vision that corporate America has shown in its acts of social responsibility, universities may fair better in their long range approach to problem solving. In fact universities may in fact be better managed on a fiscal basis than most local and state governments. Universities are known for building capacity. The act of building capacity comes from the non profit sector. It essentially entails the ability to bring about more programs and services by means of volunteerism and by bringing on board members and other leadership who volunteer talent to accomplish the mission and vision of the organization. Something governments, as of late, have failed at miserably.
Conclusion
Of course there is a real taboo about state university systems becoming involved in political issues. And this too must change. Universities are in a unique position to spread knowledge, to empower leadership in the hopes of applying that knowledge to the better good of mankind. Sounds like a good catalyst to better governance to me. Let us undertake some hands on research and development by assigning a live bankrupt government case to a universities faculty and its senior students. I hardly think we will be disappointed.
By: Rene Velez Feb 15th, 2010
We seem to have a flood gate open in the senate and house of political leadership that do not seek re-elections. It would seem that “running for office” just became “running from office”!
There is no question in my mind that running for re-election should at least be very interesting in the coming years. Americans are fed up with the in-ability of our elected leadership to address issues and to bring about comprehensive reform on the many issues that face this great nation. It is a difficult and treacherous path that any elected official faces in the years ahead. Politicians do not like uncertainty and do not like the odds when they are stacked against them. Loosing an election is not like simply not getting the job. It’s about loosing support and loosing your credibility. Something that lingers for years to come around your career. So politicians are rightfully fearful of the years to come.
I might be temped to call some of these politicians weak and fare weather leaders but, I feel there is more to it than that. A slow economy means shrinking political contributions to some respect. Many legislatures are aging as the baby boomer generation enters retirement age. So a natural shortage of political candidates is in the cards. Especially, when there is no honest way to make a living in politics. Here in Miami Dade county local commissioners wanted a salary. When it was put to the vote, voters voted against it. A bad decision, as a salary would have made it easier for qualified younger candidates to rely on that salary to make a living and to contribute to our community by serving.
Yet I do think there is reason to take notice of the number of politicians that will bow out in coming elections. Budget deficits, the partisan turmoil, angry voters, a bad economy, and the turmoil of reform all add up to extraordinarily hostile platforms for elected officials. Perhaps some may be thinking that they might be better able to serve on the outside than on the inside. It may well be more profitable too as many have discovered.
Academia in Public Administration
I am a firm believer in education. So it is only natural to look upon how universities can play an important role in helping create new political leadership. The benefits of universities creating new political leadership in fact may play right into their best interests. First, they stand to gain a great deal of recognition for prominent leaders. Second their graduates are more likely to vote favorably on university funding, or at minimum help raise much needed funding. An important note as education is key to maintaining corporate as well as political sustainability in the global arena in the future. Thirdly, universities can provide much needed information through research, polling and community involvement. It would be an ideal to say that universities are in a better place to bring fourth unbiased solutions to public administrative matters except that every university has its own political issues. However, given the short sighted vision that corporate America has shown in its acts of social responsibility, universities may fair better in their long range approach to problem solving. In fact universities may in fact be better managed on a fiscal basis than most local and state governments. Universities are known for building capacity. The act of building capacity comes from the non profit sector. It essentially entails the ability to bring about more programs and services by means of volunteerism and by bringing on board members and other leadership who volunteer talent to accomplish the mission and vision of the organization. Something governments, as of late, have failed at miserably.
Conclusion
Of course there is a real taboo about state university systems becoming involved in political issues. And this too must change. Universities are in a unique position to spread knowledge, to empower leadership in the hopes of applying that knowledge to the better good of mankind. Sounds like a good catalyst to better governance to me. Let us undertake some hands on research and development by assigning a live bankrupt government case to a universities faculty and its senior students. I hardly think we will be disappointed.
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