It didn't take long for a blunder from newly elected Board of Supervisor Democrat Bill Brown, and the blunder could not have sent a more wrong message for the district he represents.  In an interview with the Roanoke Times, Brown stated, "If I can keep 60 [percent] to 65 percent of the people satisfied, I'll consider it a success". If I were a resident of District E, I'd start to wonder if I am on the right end of "the fix" here.

There is a neon sign hanging above politics these days, and it is getting brighter. That sign says, "Wanted, elected officials who can effect change in the system, who can compromise and can bring people together." Mark my words, as the Presidential Election gets closer, we will all hear a cry from the voters looking for the candidate who truly is in the middle of Republicans and Democrats and someone who is willing to look at the best ideas from both sides. Already, when you talk to people these days, you find some general confusion out there. They will say, "Well I like what this guy says about that, but I like what that other guy says about this". More and more people are seeing both good and bad from both parties and it is sticking this time around. Party officials acknowledge the fact that the gap between Democrats and Republicans is getting larger every day, but few truly understand that the gap is so wide now, that a candidate filling that gap has a good shot of getting elected. If Bill Brown starts his job trying to satisfy only a portion of the voters in District E, Mary Biggs will see her 5th District E representative in a few years from now.

Bill Brown has the opportunity to be an exceptional addition to the Board of Supervisors. Bill Brown has the opportunity to bring great leadership to the board. But, Bill Brown needs to tell John Muffo to go somewhere and play with his Ted Kennedy dolls because Muffo is the force that drives this board into seeing things with respect to party lines as opposed to the overall good of Montgomery County. Brown needs to be the guy that steps up right now, and tells Muffo and the rest that he is coming to do what is right and not be concerned as to who is right. He needs to put this board on notice.

Brown needs to be different, he needs to work to build consensus of 100% of his District. I would imagine that if only 60% to 65% of the Blacksburg Police Department was in-step with him, he would not have been an effective Chief of Police. But he did build solid consensus, and he simply needs to repeat that in District E. The rest of the Board couldn't get a free lunch in District E.

There has not been a person on that board for several years, even Steve Spradlin, that didn't agree that teachers and other county employees needed better pay. The question then and the question today, is how is Montgomery County going to pay for those things? Clearly, from this place on the sidelines it appears it will take raising taxes. And while I think that District E (or any other District for that matter) will go along with higher taxes PROVIDED they see the benefit of them, I don't think they will happily go along with raising taxes just because it is the "Democratic" plan. People need to see the raising of taxes as something that will bring about positive things for everyone, not just the Democrats or that "60% to 65%" approval rating Brown seeks.

I think when all of the dust clears and the voters from District E can see clearly, they'll see that Spradlin and Brown agreed on certain things that need to happen in the county, they just simply have different ideas of getting to where the pay structure of county employees and other things needs to be. The people in District E understand these needs, but they won't tolerate ideas that derive from a Republican or Democratic platform solely. They respect individuals, not John Muffo politics. Bill Brown has spent a lifetime earning the respect of others. Bill Brown has spent a lifetime of being fair in everything he has done. I suspect he was elected because, as Steve Spradlin was before, many people out in District E were not voting for a Democrat or a Republican - they were voting for the person. I wrote it several weeks ago; Brown can be one of the great ones, as long as he does what he does well. and that is build consensus, not just majority approval ratings.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Name

Email

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment