TIme For New Leaders in Alton
LEADERSHIP - (noun), 1. ability to lead: the ability to guide, direct, or influence people 2. guidance: guidance or direction
In the city of Alton, the above definition has been lost. In fact I think the word may be gone in the vocabulary of our elected officials. The city is moving towards crises and yet they quietly hide behind their titles and lock themselves behind closed doors, in effect the “ostrich syndrome”. When are the elected officials going to stand up and take responsibility for their lack of action? The city is being drained of good citizens as they leave, giving corruption, drug dealing, prostitution, and murder more control of our streets. Looking at the definition of “Leadership” it is for certain we have no person in office that has the ability to influence our citizens. The mayor and aldermen have no creditability any more after letting the streets become a Wild West scene. It is obvious they have no “guidance” as they have no sense of vision for the future.
In recent weeks we have seen senseless murders, death threats, and local businesses go out of business only to be replaced by pay day loan companies and minimum wage jobs. We see the city in the middle of a battle with one of the areas worse slum lord as people continue to get hurt from his action. So how did this happen, lack of “Leadership” is the only answer. Our elected officials have worried too much about what is important to them, not listening to their constituents and their concerns that are changing our culture and environment of this city. Our elected officials have no visionary goals, except for the riverfront area, but there is much more to this city than the riverfront.
Better leadership is needed now at all levels of our city government. New trust must be instilled in our police force that will allow people not afraid to give facts that are crucial to a case. Today’s police force is intimating and instills fear in the regular citizen of Alton. Maybe a smile or a wave would do wonders to help bring back a little trust. But that is just the tip of this ice berg. We need tough laws on drug dealing, prostitution, use of fire arms, and tougher housing guidelines. We need to make our young teenagers who deface property learn a lesson by requiring all kids to give community time to keep our city clean! Maybe they would appreciate what they have. The city needs to work stopping racism and we all become one group of people, ALTONIANS! It will not be easy, but we must put a stop to racism in this city to allow it to flourish again.
It is time to step up and educate everyone that people are people, and color or race makes no difference. People need to register to vote, and tell our officials that we are tired of the status quo. We should be there for our neighbors, even if the neighbor is 10 miles across town. It is obvious our elected officials have no leadership skills so we need to step up and take control of our own destiny and work towards a united city front. Effective changes do not happen by accident. It will require a focused and deliberate effort from leaders to move forward and in doing so; we must use an approach that can accommodate different personalities and cultures. Join me in this urgent need to make our city a better place to live!
In the city of Alton, the above definition has been lost. In fact I think the word may be gone in the vocabulary of our elected officials. The city is moving towards crises and yet they quietly hide behind their titles and lock themselves behind closed doors, in effect the “ostrich syndrome”. When are the elected officials going to stand up and take responsibility for their lack of action? The city is being drained of good citizens as they leave, giving corruption, drug dealing, prostitution, and murder more control of our streets. Looking at the definition of “Leadership” it is for certain we have no person in office that has the ability to influence our citizens. The mayor and aldermen have no creditability any more after letting the streets become a Wild West scene. It is obvious they have no “guidance” as they have no sense of vision for the future.
In recent weeks we have seen senseless murders, death threats, and local businesses go out of business only to be replaced by pay day loan companies and minimum wage jobs. We see the city in the middle of a battle with one of the areas worse slum lord as people continue to get hurt from his action. So how did this happen, lack of “Leadership” is the only answer. Our elected officials have worried too much about what is important to them, not listening to their constituents and their concerns that are changing our culture and environment of this city. Our elected officials have no visionary goals, except for the riverfront area, but there is much more to this city than the riverfront.
Better leadership is needed now at all levels of our city government. New trust must be instilled in our police force that will allow people not afraid to give facts that are crucial to a case. Today’s police force is intimating and instills fear in the regular citizen of Alton. Maybe a smile or a wave would do wonders to help bring back a little trust. But that is just the tip of this ice berg. We need tough laws on drug dealing, prostitution, use of fire arms, and tougher housing guidelines. We need to make our young teenagers who deface property learn a lesson by requiring all kids to give community time to keep our city clean! Maybe they would appreciate what they have. The city needs to work stopping racism and we all become one group of people, ALTONIANS! It will not be easy, but we must put a stop to racism in this city to allow it to flourish again.
It is time to step up and educate everyone that people are people, and color or race makes no difference. People need to register to vote, and tell our officials that we are tired of the status quo. We should be there for our neighbors, even if the neighbor is 10 miles across town. It is obvious our elected officials have no leadership skills so we need to step up and take control of our own destiny and work towards a united city front. Effective changes do not happen by accident. It will require a focused and deliberate effort from leaders to move forward and in doing so; we must use an approach that can accommodate different personalities and cultures. Join me in this urgent need to make our city a better place to live!
posted by Rodger Jennings at 7:36 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home