Often times we make it much too difficult to do something. We think the more elaborate we make it, the better it will be. Maybe we need to rethink how we do what we do, and make it more simple.
Take for example electing the mayor of Naperville. It won’t be long and that process will begin. Folks announce their candidacy, campaigns begin to take shape, big dollars are donated, campaign signs appear everywhere overnight, softball questions are tossed at candidates, typical sound-good answers are given, a small percentage of eligible voters vote, we watch the numbers roll in, somebody gives a concession speech, someone else claims victory, and everything goes back to the way it was before the election except for a new face at the center of the dais.
If the vote was held today, the best candidate would also be the worst candidate, since we only have one announced candidate. Councilman Steve Chirico is the only person with enough courage to raise his hand when the question “Who wants to be the next mayor of Naperville?” was asked.
Maybe there is a better way to elect the mayor. Maybe a better way to get more people involved, keep expenses low, eliminate campaign signs, and avoid concession speeches.
The city of Dorset, Minnesota has figured out how to do it, and it’s working. Residents ‘love’ their mayor, the local police fully support the mayor, and nobody is calling for the mayor to resign.
Dorset, Minnesota is a tourist type of town known for its restaurants and shopping. There are no traffic jams, no Smart Meters, and no $435,000 legal settlements from the city coffers to roughed-up citizens. No, it’s nothing like Naperville. The city of Dorset, Minnesota keeps it simple and it works.
Meet the mayor of Dorset, Minnesota, Robert “Bobby” Tufts.
Mayor Tufts keeps its honest and keeps it simple.
Now of course, in politics, there is always going to be a little negative campaigning, but nothing that Mayor Tufts can’t rise above.
Keeping it simple, and keeping it honest worked; the mayor was re-elected to a second term.
According to the mayor’s mom, the mayor’s agenda includes “raising money for the Ronald McDonald House “Charities of Red River Valley in Fargo, N.D., and a new welcome sign for Dorset.”It sounds like a town where people are truly ‘Welcome’.
