Last night, Warren’s Voice attended a candidate forum put on by the Indianola Advocate. Here are some of our big takeaways from the night.
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It was a good event
Let me start by thanking everyone who was involved in putting on this event. It was well organized and profitable. As they used to say, a good time was had by all.
Local elections matter
For me, the forum really highlighted the importance of local elections. The issues discussed last night are issues that affect our routine lives. Perhaps not as exciting as the issues that make the headlines, the topics discussed really do impact us.
For example, city council candidates were asked how they would fund the library. As someone who pays taxes and frequents the library, this actually has a direct impact on my life.
It is clear to me that change starts locally. Being involved in local elections and local policy is very important to our daily lives.
The choice for Ward 2
In Indianola, the mayor and many of the city council members are running unopposed. The only contested race on that level is for Indianola Ward 2. This is a race between incumbent Ron Dalby and Brad Ross.
Brad Ross made an impact last night by holding up a sign, clearly showing the city’s decline in revenue. Noting the “$4 million that’s unaccounted for”, Ross advanced his business experience and work with numbers, proposing that he could help find “creative solutions” to solve the city’s budgetary problems
The battle for our children
Also on the line are multiple school board seats. The school board is a volunteer, non-partisan, and unpaid position. And yet it’s hard to imagine higher stakes. The people elected to these seats will oversee the education of an entire generation.
All the candidates conducted themselves well. Josh Lawrence, who came to the forum straight from coaching his son’s football team, said, “You find your purpose in serving others”. This was a theme he highlighted throughout the event. Mack R. Rankin emphasized the rights of parents in making decisions for their education and noted the progress made by the board already.
Jeanette Campbell is running to finish the two years left in Rob Keller’s term. Keller moved out of town and was unable to finish his term.
Call for unity
Many of the candidates emphasized the need for constructive dialogue and good faith conversations. They expressed concern about the partisan nature of politics. Whatever happens on a national level it is promising that on a local level citizens can achieve a certain level of unity among our own neighbors. We have a unique opportunity to live together in harmony and to work together regardless of political views.
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