The national news is as full as it’s ever been of skulduggery
and malfeasance.
The national news is as full as it’s ever been of skulduggery and malfeasance.
For example, how about that George Tenet, former director of the CIA? He has decided to cash in on his failed policy of “go along to get along” by publishing a memoir. He acknowledges that “we could have done better” in analyzing the intelligence that led to our invasion of Iraq, but hey – how about just doing your job?
Or how about Randall Tobias, who at one point ran a federal anti-prostitution effort, and is now alleged to be a frequent customer of a multi-million dollar “escort and massage” service?
So it’s refreshing when a fairly quiet, local effort turns out to do a lot of good. I’m talking about Vision San Benito, a grassroots group formed in the acrimonious campaign environment around Measure G in 2004.
I went to a couple of preliminary meetings. Great pains were taken to give every side a chance to be heard. We did formal exercises, with formal facilitators, to hone our collaborative skills and increase our familiarity with the issues.
Those two meetings took a lot of stamina, so I was kind of relieved when my schedule made it impossible for me to keep attending. Not only that, but also I kind of imagined the group would fizzle out in a few months, after other people’s scheduling conflicts and flagging enthusiasm dragged the proceedings to a halt.
So I was cheered to learn that it had persisted and was still meeting.
I was even more cheered to learn that Leadership San Benito, a nine-month formal training program for people interested in civic involvement, had adopted Vision San Benito as one of its class projects.
Leadership’s involvement consisted of organizing two meetings, one in English and one in Spanish, to bring the community up to date on the plan Vision San Benito has developed so far.
The group’s plan incorporates 15 specific goals – and even more importantly, measurements for achievement of those goals – from business development, community life and housing, and also that intangible but all-important aspect of “community character.”
So quietly, with little fanfare but a lot of perseverance, the folks in Vision San Benito have created a sound basis for the development of a new county general plan.
Having worked on the City of Hollister’s general plan, I can say that our work would have been enriched by the input of a group of hard-working, thoughtful citizens. It’s really encouraging to know that there are private individuals who are willing to put self-interest to one side to accommodate the interests of others.
One county supervisor, Anthony Botelho, who was at the first meeting I attended, was at the recent meeting. Let’s hope the rest of the supervisors and other officials involved in the planning process pay attention as well.
Elizabeth Gage writes a weekly column for the Free Lance.
