In the last few days before the election, County Commissioner David Madore — desperate for the defeat of the proposed county charter that would greatly reduce his command – looked to a higher power for help.
“I pray that enough of our neighbors will vote ‘no,'” he wrote in his favorite newspaper, the weekly Reflector.
His prayers went unanswered.
On Tuesday, the charter was well on its way to passing. The charter was winning 55 percent to 44 percent with more votes to count in the coming days. Only a miracle, a divine intervention of sorts, could change the outcome.
So now it’s time for Madore to finally do what he has always claimed he will do. Listen to the people. Quit doing stupid stuff.
It’s also time for the winners and losers to come together. We will always have our differences. That’s the way a democracy should work. But we must be willing to give on some issues to accomplish other issues. It’s the art of the deal. There’s no other way.
But back to the current business of this election and the charter’s passage. There’s no question this is a stinging defeat for Madore and fellow Republican Commissioner Tom Mielke. Clearly, it was a forceful and convincing message to change the way they do things.
But how did the charter pass? Why did county residents vote to change the way our local government is set up after decades and decades of doing it the old way? Why was a county charter successful this time when similar efforts in the past went down to defeat?
Who gets credit?
• Community members, of course, get the lion’s share of the credit. In the end, they got behind the move to change the way we do things around here. They recognized how important it was to try to restore credibility to county government.
• The freeholders get a bunch of credit as well. These temporary elected officials — both conservative and liberal — were assigned to write the charter. Through countless hours of debate and compromise, they ended up with a document — although not perfect — that will be able to move our county forward.
• Republicans. This thing doesn’t pass if rank-and-file conservatives don’t get behind this thing. Most liberals recognized the need for this change to a charter form of government. But conservatives were torn. Many simply weren’t sure if this was simply a power play by liberals or if we truly needed to increase the number of commissioners to five — something the approved charter will do — to lessen the power of just two people.
• The Columbian. This will sound self-serving, but none of this happens without a strong, free press holding the government accountable. Our reporters objectively reported all the missteps that have happened since Madore and Mielke teamed up. Our editorials — the institutional voice of The Columbian — often criticized them for their bad behavior. And our columns — yes, this one — regularly took their inappropriate actions to task. Without a strong, free press doing its job, not afraid of the powerful in elected office, the public would be in the dark.
• Madore, of course, is the biggest loser here. He invested all of his political collateral, money and energy into getting this charter defeated. When cajoling didn’t work, Madore deployed his own special brand of pressure.
• The Republican hierarchy. Where many rank-and-file Republicans voted for the charter because of Madore’s bad behavior, the power structure of the party circled the wagons around him. This was nonsensical if they were paying attention. There’s an old outdoors saying: “fish or cut bait.” The power structure opted to fish. They should have cut bait. State Rep. Liz Pike — who easily won re-election — also should have cut bait with Madore. Instead, she campaigned heavily for the charter’s defeat, missing an opportunity to show community leadership.
With the election behind us, now really is the time to come together. Madore, hopefully, will see the light and change his ways. If he does, he could become part of this community again. Regardless, we need to move forward.
It’s time.
Morning Briefing Newsletter
Get a rundown of the latest local and regional news every Mon-Fri morning.
