Top Ten Things to Look for in a Candidate for City Council

[Editor]

This is an election year for the City Council.  Elections will take place on May 10, 2005.  I composed the following list in order to facilitate discussion about candidates' qualifications for this office.  This list should not be construed as an endorsement of any candidate.   

Top Ten Things to Look for in a Candidate for City Council

10.    Roots. Does this candidate have roots in this community?  How long has he/she lived here?  Owned property here? Did he/she go to school here?  Work here? Is he/she truly invested in this community?  Is this candidate known?

9.    Level of Concern. How sincere can a candidate be unless he/she has taken the time to learn the issues that affect City residents?  How many City Council meetings has this candidate attended in the last year? How many Zoning Board Meetings?  Planning Board Meetings?  School Board Meetings? Does he/she understand the issues that these Boards address? Does this candidate have any idea how City government operates?

8.   Community Support. Has this candidate ever served the City in any volunteer capacity?  Served on a Board?  Participated in the City’s Clean-Up Day? Supported events at the Cultural Arts Center?  Coached Little League? 

7.   Motivation. What is this candidate’s motivation for running?  To simply say "I want to make the City a better place to live" is not enough.  Does this candidate have a solid grasp of the issues facing the City in the coming years? Is this more than a personal ego trip for power and prestige? Does he/she have a vision?

6.   Education/Experience. What is this candidate’s educational background?  Is this candidate a college graduate?  If not, does this candidate have the appropriate life experience by way of managing a business?  Working in a related industry? Raising children?  Being a good spouse?  Are these skills transferable to public office?  Education isn’t everything, but it’s important.

5.   Integrity. Is this candidate an independent thinker?  Can he she be a consensus builder?  Remember:  He/she is only one of five Council members.  Is this candidate a team player, willing to compromise when necessary and stay true to his/her convictions on the important issues?

4.   Ethics. Is this candidate morally/ethically worthy to hold public office? Does he/she have a questionable past with one or more instances of moral indiscretion? While ethical quality should be a "given", candidates should volunteer this information, acknowledge past indiscretions, subject themselves to criticism, and let the voters decide. 

3.   Sacrifice. Is this candidate fully aware of the sacrifice he or she must make to serve in this important role?  This position requires 25-30 per week on average.  The pay is lousy. (Check me, but I think it’s under $10,000 a year).  25 hours, in addition to a regular job, is very taxing.  Only sincere, dedicated people need apply.

2.    Vision. Does this candidate see the tremendous potential in this City?  Does he/she shop on Main Street?  Know the key players in the business sector?  Understand the changing landscape in this growing City?  Realize the impact (good and bad) of the Medical Center? Proposed light rail transportation network? Special Improvement District?  Property tax reform?  Environmental issues of the Hackensack River, and dozens of other issues that will directly affect our quality of life.

1.   Trust Worthiness. Can you, the voter, trust this person to dedicate him/herself to fully represent your interests as a citizen and taxpayer. (New Jersey residents are one of the highest taxed citizens in the nation.)  Does this candidate posses all of the qualities necessary to formulate and institute policy that will truly make Hackensack a better City in which to live and work? 

[ericmartindale]

You missed the biggest one of all.  Does the candidate understand taxes and the relationship between ratables and the tax rate? Does the candidate understand that most potential developments generate tax return annually, but also generate annual costs to the city such as education, police and fire protection, etc. The owner of a 3-family house or an old apartment building may be paying taxes, but at the same time the units are putting many kids into the school system at +/- $10,000 a head. Does the candidate know that some land uses are positive ratables, and others are negative ratables, meaning they generate less economic return than the services they generate. Does the candidate understand that the city's zoning ordinance massively affects, for better or for worse, all future trends regarding ratables and taxes.  For instance, 10 new 2-family houses has a far different fiscal impact than 20 townhouse condos, even though both complexes are 20 units and occupy the same acreage. This is because families with children will gravitate to the 2-family houses, while the townhouses will be mostly young couples without kids or empty-nester households.

You could also write something about social services and tax exempt buildings housing social services, and the impact that these facilities have on all nearby property values.  In all cases, residential property values decrease if within proximity to the "safety net" of social services. Over the long run, all residential areas within the "safety net" downgrade, and tend to become occupied by constituents of those social services, further eroding the fabric of the community and reducing the test scores of the public school system.

But not all tax-exempt property is bad for the community. Parkland is tax exempt, but it is an ammenity rather than a detriment to the quality of life, and it has a far different impact on the fiscal health of a community. Study after study nationwide has proven that parks, especially big parks, nature preserves, and linear walkways, tremendously increase the value of all nearby properties.  Even properties several blocks away increase in value if well-maintained parks are nearby.

Candidates should have a thorough understanding of all the regional and national socio-economic forces that are impacting our community, and pulling it in opposite directions. Simply put, we need to know what side they are on, do they want to build the "safety net" here, or protect us from it. This is the primary battle line in this city, and all the old battle lines which used to be drawn along ethnic or racial lines simply do not exist any longer. Will a candidate work with people of all different backgrounds to advance the good of the community, and protect our neighborhoods from being degraded and destroyed by the encroaching "safety net" of social services for the homeless, mentally ill, drug and alcohol addicts, AIDS patients, etc.

[hamburglar]

I was looking through some old postings and came across this one. It's interesting to look at it in hindsight. It really sums up the results of this council election. The winners clearly displayed these qualities, the losers were sorely lacking. Coincidentally, Big Ol' Malcolm Borg lacks them as well. Now I understand why he joined the "Citizens who are Really Angry" campaign team. Does anyone want to take a crack at the Top Ten Things to Look for in a Newspaper Publisher?