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From the Campaign Committee (2) |
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Asheville Needs a Good Psychologist
Often,
a disillusioned public will think of political leaders as people with
insatiable egos, folks who have to control others because they cant
control themselves. But, by definition, leaders get people where they
need to go; leaders in a free society will help individuals reach
upward toward their potentials.
One trait of a good leader is
objectivity. Vice Mayor Carl Mumpower is not afraid to announce when
the emperor has no clothes. He is on record for arguing for "substance
over illusion" and telling visionaries who present grand plans before
city council that "there is no virtue in fantasy." He has spoken
against extravagant dreams to redevelop the riverfront with affordable
housing, renovate the Civic Center with overly-optimistic hopes for
funding and other nice wishes backed only by plans with no track record
of success.
Mumpower will not let misrepresentions stated in
public hearings go unchecked. Some leaders think they perform a public
service by pretending to know everything. Mumpower knows We the People
would prefer somebody who listens. He is always inviting people to his
office for further discussions of material brought before council. When
matters are unclear, he knows how to ask questions to get to the heart
of the matter. A couple of times, hes requested that council not give
presenters the "Thats nice, now you can go away" treatment. Hes the
member of council who asks victims of compromise if they can live with
councils decision, and offers groups opportunities to huddle when they
might be going down for the count. Yet, !
he draws
the line between
listening and indulging. He says he only represents one special
interest group, "The People of Asheville."
It is important that
American leaders know why they are elected. While some members of city
council trample property rights as if they have never read the
Constitution, Mumpower knows it is not his place to micromanage
personal affairs, but to do for people what they cannot do for
themselves. Maybe thats why he was just extended an invitation to
serve on the board of the prestigious John Locke Foundation.
Mumpower has said public safety is his number-one charge. He is focused
on shutting down Ashevilles open-air drug markets because 80%, if not
more, of crimes against persons and property are drug-related.
Whereas
bureaucracies impress themselves with the amount of paper they churn
out, Mumpower has said Asheville needs to get its planning more inline
with its ability to implement. Defending taxpayers, who surely dont
want to buy added layers of government, he has spoken against the city
hiring a lobbyist and an ombudsman. Because government belongs to the
people, he protested the closed and pseudo-open sessions conducted
during the water negotiations.
Mumpower speaks against
"socialist" programs that make wage-earners subsidize superior
standards of living for people who could work but dont. A fiscal
conservative, he often yanks items off the consent agenda to question
their utility and votes against them as irresponsible wastes. He also
realizes that state and federal dollars are not free gifts, as is often
claimed. Describing the federal deficit as "incomprehensible," he
suggested the City of Asheville send a resolution to Washington, DC
saying it would not jeopardize future generations by feeding at the
pork trough unless it had to.
Mumpower knows that "loo!
king the
other way," is a failed governmental approach. The initiatives he
starts are intended to make an impact. He has fought obstructionism
every step of the way to get positive, community-building events into
public housing. He has been "the anti-drug" for Ashevilles addiction
to saying and believing that nothing can be done to shut down its
open-air drug markets and the fighting, screaming, littering, and abuse
of property that characterize these hot spots. He has had to conquer
hopelessness, paralyzing urban myths, white-collar denial, and other
unchartered territories to show that Asheville can take back its
neighborhoods. Under his leadership, city council gave the Asheville
Police Department the mandate it needed to let drug dealers know they
could no longer take advantage of low-income communities with impunity.
As
a practicing psychologist, Mumpower knows better than to aspire to
political office so he can create a codependent relationship with the
people through enabling entitlements. His track record speaks of
helping people become self-sufficient and self-actualized. So, while
other candidates are trying to organize their campaigns, should it be
any wonder this election season that Mumpower is referring people who
have time to volunteer to his For Our Kids initiatives?
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