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" The candidates I endorse have best represented my positions as expressed in past public comments to council, but Mr. Sacher statement succinctly describes my overall concern regarding fiscal matters on this island, in his rebuttal in the Sun Times LTE:

"Given our demographics, we should be among the most fiscally sound cities anywhere, instead of having hundreds of millions of dollars in debt and utility rates that are literally causing people to move away."

I mean, in the face of all this, many people are tempted to wash their hands of the whole process. They become disillusioned, skeptical, and apathetic. But as good people observe the wrongs in the political process and turn their backs on the system, they commit the biggest wrong of all.

The unwillingness of good, everyday citizens to step forward and be involved leaves the political arena to political professionals and to people lacking in ethical principles. Many people say, “Politics is a dirty business.” Part of the reason it’s a dirty business is many good people don’t participate.

The antidote to the problems of our political process is more participation, not less. Many of us in this country have been lulled into a sleeping pattern about our civic responsibilities. We don’t read the newspaper or otherwise keep up on the issues of the day or the activities of our political leaders. We don’t involve ourselves in political debates or campaigns. We don’t even vote. We have become comfortable and have forgotten that we daily enjoy a degree of freedom and security that is unusual in this world. The peace, liberty, prosperity, and convenience of our society can survive only with vigilant effort from honest, ethical everyday citizens. Within the BYU tradition there is a sense of civic responsibility, and those educated in that tradition need to step forward and act.

Our political system offers many opportunities to get involved. The most basic, of course, is to vote—in every election every year. But there is much more we can and should do to build up our democratic infrastructure.

So - whatever some yesterday backstage leader comment about you Mr. Sacher - GO! I vote for you. My wife too.
Marco Island needs you.