When you look at the present contest for mayor, three parts of Keith Gaskin’s platform are especially attractive: infrastructure; public safety; and community and culture.
The city’s infrastructure is the aspect of Columbus life that we all see. Except for the comparatively independent Columbus Light and Water Department, that aspect of city life is discouraging wherever we look. Snake-like braids of hair lay on College Street for two weeks. We see the crooked public signs (for example, the Friendship Cemetery marker at Main and Seventh streets), upended Riverwalk benches not replaced and of course the lingering, irritating and embarrassing street troubles everywhere. Every citizen has these corrosive encounters every day.
Money is the key, for sure. But with such evidence of neglect, even indifference, everywhere, that infrastructure impression is a discouraging, dispiriting one. Indeed, the loss of spirit seems to have hit one of the city’s champions, The Commercial Dispatch: see “An election where nobody wins,” the bleak front-page editorial of May 21.
Gaskin admits “there’s a lot more to it” that he needs to know. But his platform is an encouraging counter-weight to the bleakness.
His plan for “need-based repair and maintenance” parallels the “broken-window policing” being advanced by the city-county Crime Prevention Task Force. Neglecting our appearance creates a downward spiral of resignation, and more destruction.
Responding quickly – straightening the marker, clearing the streets of selfish litter – raises spirits and the will to help.
A straight marker may not say, “We care.” But a tilted one does say, “We don’t care.”
On public safety, Gaskin speaks of having an “environment for safe neighborhoods and quality schools.” Clearly this is a case of “much easier said than done.” But we can applaud the work and visibility of Police Chief Fred Shelton, Sheriff Eddie Hawkins and Superintendent Cherie Labat.
The huge challenge to us all is to give the skeptical person reasons to commit to the civic virtues of self-control and pride in his city. The challenge is to counter the citizen’s voice that says, “There is nothing I can do about the city.”
Also standing out in the Gaskin platform is “building a cultural atmosphere” that makes Columbus attractive and brings in tax dollars.
Here he does have a running start. We have the Rosenzweig (now next door to a real bookstore), a fine library, excellent amateur musical groups and MUW with its festivals of art, literature and music. We have a lot to conserve and broadcast.
It is time to thank Mayor Smith for his three terms of service; bring in the new mayor and council members; re-assess the city’s departments and start the rebuilding, seen and unseen, that will raise the money and the energy for the Gaskin improvements.
George Hazard, Columbus
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