Wednesday, February 29, 2012

It’s Time

I am saddened to learn that Emily Lincoln died last weekend. Emily was a friend and political ally in the fight for Town Center. As has been noted in Columbia2.0 “She was passionate about the changes that we’ve all been advocating for and she yearned to actually see them happen.”

The news of her passing came as I was writing a post about community leadership. Sources have informed me that at least two members of the Columbia Council will not be seeking reelection this year, Phil Kirsch from Wilde Lake and Gregg Schwind from Hickory Ridge. If past history is any indicator, there is a good chance that at least one of these seats will go to someone who gets talked into it and ends up running unchallenged. Some villages will be hard pressed to even get a quorum of voters on election day.

This is how the board of directors is constituted for the Columbia Association, one of the largest employers in HoCo with an annual operating budget of $60 million. Somebody gets talked into it. Sometimes a good person gets talked into it, but not always. Sometimes the good person is not available and you have to go to the second or third string to get someone. Right now there are at least two third stringers sitting on the board.

It’s insane.

There’s hope though. A new generation of leaders like Tom Coale in Dorsey’s Search and Ed Coleman in Long Reach have stepped up and taken seats at the council but more good people like them are needed.

There isn’t much time left either. Some of the best of the old guard are already gone.
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