A Candidate's Progress (4): Platform planks and opening salvos.

Previously in this series:

A Candidate's Progress (1): Wet feet and strategy.
A Candidate's Progress (2): “Blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind.”
A Candidate's Progress (3): The paint's almost dry.

I am a candidate for city council at-large, running for office under the banner of the Democratic Party, and it is my intention to embrace the relevant principles and values of the Democratic Party as they apply to our particular local situation in New Albany, but in addition, to offer expanded visions of the possibilities.

Following are my interpretations of these principles and values. I welcome questions

Human dignity has no price tag.
As these value and principles pertain to liberty, justice, diversity, equality and human rights, I steadfastly refuse to cite dollars as an excuse to refrain from sense. A civil society is our goal, and its success will be measured by how it treats its weakest members. A fine place to begin locally is by re-animating the dormant Human Rights Commission.

Promises, promises.
In political terms, unattainable promises are empty promises, so it’s better to focus on the attainable. What can a city council member do about jobs, neighborhoods, the economy, education and urban function? First and foremost, he or she can be open to ideas, willing to learn, and able to adapt to changing realities. Openness may sound simple, but it’s too often ignored, and with disastrous consequences.

Back to the Future
Forward progress for a city like New Albany can best be understood as willingness to look back to the future – comprehending and harnessing solutions already evidenced by the city’s unique history, physical location, urban composition and previous experiences, and applying them to contemporary problems. Among these:

· Localization of the economy for a stronger economic foundation, with a higher percentage of money staying in the community, and a greater degree of economic self-sufficiency as a result. Sustainable, smart, localized growth is the goal.

· Use of economic development funds to achieve localization, not as political subsidies, as in the case of artificially maintaining lowered sewer rates. These economic development funds should be used to empower and assist local business and job creation, not as veritable bribes for engorged multi-national corporations – and One Southern Indiana should never be the final arbiter.

· Enhanced and improved cooperation between existing economic development entities like NA First, Develop New Albany and the Urban Enterprise Association to avoid overlapping programs and use available monies more responsibly.

Green. Green. Green.
Environmental restoration and sustainability are the fundamental keys to resolving longstanding problems. For instance, why is there a storm water drainage problem to begin with? The natural hydrological process has been subverted by ill-considered development patterns, burdening the sanitary sewers and leading to lawsuits, edicts, expensive engineering solutions and of course, flooding. Wouldn’t it help to address the problem by treating the cause, and also implementing any number of low-tech, low-cost neighborhood solutions – rain barrels, green spaces, trees, street cut-outs, and the demolition of unnecessary pavement?

Urban living as originally intended.
Thinking green and acting green are not at odds with the city; rather, they harmonize fully with our stated goal of using the pre-1960 urban footprint as it was intended to be used – for humans, in concert with nature, and not as a massive, city-wide parking space. It costs far less to use and adapt what we have, to understand the lessons of historic preservation, to maximize the advantages of urban living, and to enlist nature as an ally rather than to build anew and thwart nature. When there is a case for new construction, a high bar of compliance in terms of the building and zoning codes must be maintained.

Neighborhood restoration
A progressive neighborhood policy is at the core of meaningful change, and reform starts from the bottom up: Gathering data, studying best practices, focusing on design, and exploring cause and effect concerning myriad factors including walking and bicycling opportunities, storm water drainage, public transportation options, retail availability, crime and safety, and improved enforcement of building codes to improve the quality of housing. We must beautify, fill in the gaps, absorb the water, and most of all, undo the “improvements” that remade the city into a place for cars, when it was initially designed for people and families.

Recognize inter-relatedness
Something as seemingly minor as the design of a city street has broad implications. Is it designed to efficiently move people, or facilitate high-speed driving? To be friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists, or to endanger them? Safely designed for children and the elderly? Efficient for drainage? Many of the problems we face are the result of design flaws. Repair the flaws, and watch as a ripple effect of good results improves the quality of life for everyone.

Tolls and the Ohio River Bridges Project
As currently projected, even after minor and strictly cosmetic changes to the overall plan, the ORBP is a multi-billion dollar transportation boondoggle meant to solve problems that barely exist now, and may no longer be of significance long before the bridges are finished. I was an early opponent of tolls, remain inalterably opposed to tolling existing transportation infrastructure, and believe that an East End Bridge (the one we actually need) can be built without recourse to tolls, which will place an intolerable burden on Hoosier workers and families.

Local self-determination
It will be a tough and a long fight, but we must initiate political action for greater local determination in budgeting and revenue. If we make the pie bigger, the bigger slices stay here. When it comes to budgets and expenditures in the context of “fiscal conservatism,” taking this as a knee-jerk call to “spend less” until we’re devouring muscle, not fat, is futile without a concurrent commitment to “think more.” In fact, thinking by itself costs nothing, and working smarter by more wisely deploying the financial resources we already possess moves us beyond penny-wise and pound-foolish obstructionism, which must come to an end if we’re to survive.

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It strikes me that just like a business plan, a campaign platform is a living document and a point of departure. It will evolve as the campaign progresses. Questions, observation and critiques are appreciated, and as soon as humanly possible, we’ll get a web site up and running. In the interim, this blog will continue to serve as a sounding board. Thanks for your help.