Jackson Free Press

One election is behind us, but several others are on the horizon.

In 2016, we vote for federal offices—including the president and members of Congress—and state judiciary seats. Unless you've been living in a cave without a smartphone, you're painfully aware of how the presidential campaign is already in swing.

Then, some time next fall, we again gear up for municipal elections in the city of Jackson. Each of the City's seven wards will draw a handful of hopefuls, including incumbents, perennial standbys and fresh faces. These are important yet weary times.

Often, elections are periods of rigorous and necessary debate on critical issues facing our society. But they can also have a paralyzing effect on government. We are hard-pressed to come up with a single substantive issue state leaders grappled with that didn't also involve bumper stickers and campaign slogans.

Running the day-to-day operations of government is hard enough; when candidates are jockeying for poll position, it becomes next to impossible. Thus, we hope that in these days following the Nov. 3 election, local officials will zero in on the issues that face us and make serious headway toward solving big problems. Although the City of Jackson faces enormous challenges, it also has a significant opportunity if leaders just hunker down, slash the red tape, and get to work.

Currently, the City has $35 million between collections from the 1-percent sales tax and funds from state and federal transportation officials. We join members of the city council and citizens of Jackson in our growing impatience to see shovels in the ground.

Mayor Tony Yarber's administration, presumably scarred by one of the biggest mistakes of the Siemens contract—the failure to have a project manager to look out for the city's interest—says a program manager must be hired first.

Fair enough, but Yarber came into office last April and finished the 1-percent master plan in February. To echo frustrated members of the city council, why did the request-for-proposals for program management services not go out until June? Given the experiences—and controversy—of what seems like every RFP Yarber brings to the council, it's likely to spark a battle of wills and could muck up the works for many more weeks, if not longer.

The next 12 months are critical. We call on elected leaders and policymakers to shut out the overlords of the campaign industrial complex—politicians, consultants, direct mail firms, Big Media—and put the next election out of your minds for the time being. Of course, leaders should engage in debate when necessary and ultimately vote their consciences. However, that debate should only be in service to the citizens, and not self-serving.

In short, elected officials should focus on the important work that needs to get done and give people a reason to be excited about the next election.