Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee once made a humorous appeal to those interested in public service.
To paraphrase the now soon-to-be ambassador to Israel: he said that if one is interested in getting involved in their community, they should attend their local school board meeting.
However, he humorously warned not to attend too often, as it might inspire you to run for a position yourself.
While this is a humorous quip, I see it more as a challenge than an ominous warning.
Filing is now open for local city council and school board races until Feb. 14.
Are you up to the challenge?
The world seems to be spinning out of control these days.
Whether in Washington, Austin or right here on Main Street— rhetoric is high, transparency is low and emotions are running wild.
It’s time to calm these emotions, sit across the table from one another, make compromises and do the hard work that will benefit our community, our state and our country.
Again, I ask, are you up to the challenge?
Local government makes differences in everyday life.
Local officials make decisions every day that affect the quality of life in our community.
Are the roads getting fixed? Will we have enough water? Does the fire department have the resources it needs? Are we safe in our communities?
How many days a week will our children go to school? Are they being taught by the highest quality teachers available?
These are all real-life, everyday questions that matter, and folks like you can help solve these problems.
The social media echo chamber is filled with plenty of opinions from everyday experts, but often, it’s all just blather.
I encourage you to disassociate from the online name-calling and rumor mill.
If you’re interested in change in your community, there may just be a spot for you.
Get out there. Go to a meeting. Ask the hard questions. Learn about the issues.
But be careful, like the former governor said, if you get out there too much, you may just want to run for office.
And that’s okay too. Filing is open until Friday, Feb. 14.
Are you up to the challenge?
Austin Lewter is the owner and publisher of the Whitesboro News-Record. He can be reached at [email protected].