Outcry Over The Latest City Council Meeting

Deliberate Civic Work Between Elections

Another City Council meeting ends with outcry about bad actors. The frustration is understandable, the comments familiar. But replacing a bad actor is not only about opposition. It is about preparation.

Communities that succeed do more than reject what they no longer want. They invest time and care in finding who they are willing to support, long before that support has a name, a sign, or a campaign season attached to it.

This work cannot be rushed, and it cannot be outsourced to social media. It asks for courage to buck the status quo.

Change begins between elections. This is where many efforts falter. People engage at moments of crisis, then disengage once the moment passes. This leads to the same old, same old.

Deliberate civic engagement is about more than the commentary of outcry. It means asking who is prepared to serve, not simply who is willing to protest. It means understanding that leadership is not summoned by frustration alone.

I say this as someone familiar with campaigns. By the time people decide it is time to act, the real window for preparation has already narrowed.

The time between elections realistically allows for the time it takes to win one. It allows space to see who is willing to step forward, who is prepared to challenge an incumbent seriously, and whether the community is ready to be honest about what success requires, like getting out to vote.

It is also the only season in which hard lessons can be addressed. For instance, when will we learn that three way races rarely change outcomes?

This time , right now, allows for discernment, for resolve, and for decisions made with the future in mind rather than the heat of this latest moment. What follows on Election Day is decided by whether this time is used wisely, or simply allowed to pass.