By Mike Norman
mnorman@star-telegram.com
God bless 'em all.
From the two 20-year-olds who are running for the Arlington City Council to 74-year-old Bob Watkins, the long-serving serially not-elected candidate who wants to be elected mayor of Haltom City as a write-in.
I count 202 names on ballots for 41 municipal and school board elections to be supervised by the Tarrant County Elections Division next month.
Bless them all for having the courage and dedication to run.
Early voting starts Monday and ends May 10. Election Day is May 14.
They come in all stripes and colors. The young ones usually say they have a longtime interest in government and want to get more young people involved in local politics. The older ones like Watkins never shy away from giving their opinions.
People like Watkins with so many battle scars never die, because Saint Peter knows they'll argue with him if he doesn't open the gate fast enough. He doesn't need the hassle.
But without such gadflies many city halls across America would rot from within.
On a scale of one to 10, one signifying almost no knowledge about the demands of public office and 10 meaning well-versed and qualified, candidates score anywhere from less-than-zero to off-the-scale.
One in Arlington wants to address the problems of flooding around Rush Creek but doesn't know where the water comes from or where it goes.
Another believes that City Hall discussions of a hike-and-bike network are the first step toward taking our cars away.
On the other end of the scale are people like Watkins. He may have failed in his 2007, 2009 and 2010 election attempts, but he has worked on several city volunteer advisory boards and has served on the Zoning Board of Adjustment for about 15 of the last 20 years. He can tell you who was right and who was wrong in every City Hall dispute since well before that.
Some candidates come with outside-the-box ideas that should make other officials slap their heads and ask, "Why didn't I think of that?"
Connie White, mayor of Trophy Club for two years and running for re-election, enjoys walking for exercise in her town (the scenery and topography are ultra-nice, and North Texas spring weather can be gorgeous). She posts the time and places for her walks on the town's website and invites the other 7,999 other Trophy Club residents to bring their questions and complaints for walk-and-talk sessions.
Candidates rarely run out of words. Many are steeped in the history of their communities. Scott Bradley isn't on the ballot this year in Westlake (he retired in 2008 after 14 years as mayor, a total of 29 years in town politics), but he virtually created Westlake's history. Bill Tate, mayor of Grapevine since forever, comes from a pioneer family and
is Grapevine history.
Get mayoral candidate Jim Lane started spinning tales about Fort Worth and you might as well plan on sitting for a spell.
And then there are the younger ones. Some clearly have a future in politics. The best learn quickly how the game is played, how to sound confident and craft their words to make an impression.
At 39, Chris Hightower is not one of the youngest on the campaign trail as he runs for the District 5 seat on the Arlington City Council. But he grew up in politics; his mom was deeply involved in it.
He has an inspiring message. He says it's time for his generation to step up, get involved and become leaders.
Maybe there will never be a shortage of politicians, but it's certain there will never be a shortage of problems and opportunities for good elected officials to tackle.
Bless those who try.
Mike Norman is editorial director of the Star-Telegram / Arlington and Northeast Tarrant County. 817-390-7830
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