VillageMatters.org Looks to Influence the Conversation

This blog, aShortChronicle, was started as an attempt to influence the conversation on local politics here in Davidson.  The goal was to give a voice to the more conservative point of view on local issues in a town where that was sorely lacking.  Over the past couple of years I think we've successfully done that. 

A few examples...

• The debate over 4-year staggered terms came and went without the town instituting that change.  Keeping the status quo in this case was a victory for voters and has helped keep elected officials accountable by ensuring they face those voters on a more regular basis in a meaningful way.  Information provided here definitely influenced how that debate turned out.
• The constant and running theme of "transparency" pushed at aShortChronicle regularly nudges and prods our town officials to do the right thing when it comes to open government  For instance, the recent discussion of conflicts of interests and Commissioner Jenest being recused from a vote regarding CHS probably would not have happened (at least not to the degree it did) if the subject was not raised in these pages.
• The issues of taxes and spending are regularly covered here.  As a wealthy town it would be easy to say "well, we can all afford to pay a little more".  However, when taxing and spending other people's money, it is absolutely required in my opinion to constantly ask the question "does this expenditure meet the needs of the vast majority of the public and is it absolutely required?"  That's a question that should be asked every single budget cycle.  We are glad that it now appears to be.

In a relatively brief period of time we've shown that a difference can be made if you speak up, and with that we want to bring to your attention to VillageMatters.org.

Former Commissioner Connie Wessner and Professor Ann Fox from Davidson College have started a new blog and Twitter effort to give a more liberal and progressive voice to the blogosphere discussion here in Davidson.  That effort is VillageMatters.org.  Readers should check it out.

Former Commissioner Wessner was the strongest supporter on the previous Board for a unilateral change to term lengths without putting it to a voter referendum.  She's also been a strong proponent of Davidson's high property tax rates.  If the below tweets from last Tuesday's Board work session are any indication, my guess is their effort will be pushing back on at least some of the discussions we'll be raising here at aShortChronicle. 

Check out the #villagematters hashtag for the entire feed.  This is just a selection.

 

How this discussion progresses will be fun to watch.