Now, I’m all in favor of drawing a name out of a hat to determine who wins a car or a trip to Ireland - but a Mayor’s race?
Yes, today in the City of Rock Island, Illinois the new Mayor was determined by drawing a name out of a hat. Now, I’m sure you're wondering - HOW, WHY? Politics, loopholes, and election laws from the early 1900’s is the name of the game here.
You can learn the whole story here. But in short this election was originally won by 13 votes on April 7th...it then went to a recount which showed a valid count the first time BUT then...several votes were thrown out because of century old election laws so...the election was ruled a tie and the two candidate names were placed in a hat and one was chosen. Oh, and subsequently the person who originally won the race won the drawing.
Now, I’m not writing this to dispute the decisions made in this process or share my opinion about this particular situation - although if you’re interested you can give me a call :). I’m writing this as a call to action for our next leaders to take a stand, VOTE, and RUN!
We need new leadership in our cities driving development and growth. Leadership that won’t get hung up on loopholes and out of date election procedures. Leadership that has integrity and wants to make sure every vote counts.
We need the next generation to be willing to take a stand on issues and help get out the vote - and not just in presidential elections but in LOCAL elections which are key to your cities ability to be a talent magnet. We need our next leaders to run for office today.
If your Young Professionals Organization (YPO) helps your next leaders take a stand, vote, and run, I applaud you and would love to hear how you’re doing it. Post to our forums.
If your YPO has not jumped into the politics of your cities future - its time! Consider developing a YP political action committee, host issue forums, have regular open dialogues with your elected officials and find ways to help young professionals run for office. Attend this year's Next Leaders Summit in Cincinnati September 17-19, to learn best practices on ways to engage.
It’s time to raise the bar in our city, county, and state political circuses. Its time for the next leaders to lead!
Check out these resources dedicated to helping the next generation of leaders:
2009 Next Leaders Summit: http://nextgenerationconsulting.com/events/summit/next-leaders-summit-2009
The White House Project: http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/voterunlead/gorun/
Young Elected Officials Network: http://www.yeonetwork.org/
