Zack Reed is acting like Donald Trump over the issue of the dirt bike track the city plans to build at Marion Motley Park off of 73rd and Kinsman. The vote has been taken, the issue passed, and it’s a done deal; no matter how the councilman feels about it, the track is going to get built. So why is Reed going on Channel 19 doing an editorial about a dead issue?
He says the 2.4 million dollars would be better used to purchase equipment for the police department so they can catch the dirt bike riders as they zip down city streets, I guess. But as a motorcyclist myself, I’m here to tell the councilman that no car — not even those with high-performance engines like the police drive — can catch up to a motorcycle; that’s why police don’t even bother trying to chase them.
Better to get them off the street, into their own racing facility, and begin mentoring them since we will then know where to find them. Reed is acting like our current president … inasmuch as he can’t seem to let a settled issue go. The question is, why? Is he still planning to run for mayor, or is he just glomming onto a controversial issue for a bit of face time in front of a TV camera?
The Price of Democracy
In a participatory democratic republic such as ours, vigorously engaging in our electoral processes is critical to the maintaining of our liberties; our most recent presidential election amply demonstrates what can happen when too many citizens sit at home and expect others to do their work for them because they don’t think it’s important enough for them to vote. To wit: We now have a marginal madman with his finger on the nuclear trigger that was put into office by 27 percent of eligible voters.
If the election was held over again today Donald Trump would not get enough votes to get anywhere near the Oval Office. He’d be beaten in a landslide.
But every election matters, not just those for president. This is a municipal election year and the stakes are going to be high in a number of races, and next year the stakes will be even higher since members of Congress will be running for reelection. The 2018 election will determine what kind of country we’re going to have for years to come.
The Curse of Incumbency
Normally incumbency works to a politician’s advantage in an election for a number of obvious reasons: The voters have heard the candidate’s name somewhat frequently over the years; he or she has had the opportunity to establish a track record; and the incumbent usually has made friends with other elected officials (who can sometimes be helpful in a tough race).
But the curse of incumbency is this: Politicians sometime have to support colleagues they know to be complete bums simply because this is the way the game has always been played. And yes, I’m referencing my own community of Ward 7, which includes Hough.
Everyone at City Hall, including virtually all of the other members of City Council, knows TJ Dow has been a disaster for Ward 7, yet they’ll support him because he’s the incumbent. It doesn’t matter how damaging this clown is … he’s “their” clown. He’s one of them, and they’ll support him no matter what, and no matter how much damage he does to our ward. They should be ashamed of themselves.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author at http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com