Voting? Think Moynihan

Daniel Patrick Moynihan

With the 2019 election entering the home stretch, I am reminded of something the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, once said: "everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts."

And this was before the age of rampant social media.

I shudder to think what Moynihan, who died in 2003, would have to say about the information, make that misinformation, about candidates and issues flying around on mostly on various social media platforms.

It seems the more candidates there are, the more misinformation, or potential for misinformation, exists. Which raises the bar for voters to become educated about the candidates and the issues being tossed about. This seemed apparent during the recent Chicago mayoral primary when 14 Chicagoans ran in a bid to replace Rahm Emmanuel as Chicago’s boss. The glut of candidates, some pundits say, may have made it difficult for voters to decide for whom the should vote or, worse yet, if they would vote at all.

Tuesday’s Buffalo Grove village election faces similar challenges. Village Clerk Jan Sirabian has been reminding residents to vote for weeks. She has noted, and if anyone would know, Sirabian would, that a low voter turnout could result in a candidate winning by five or 10 votes.  Granted, that could happen in a large turnout, but with nine candidates vying for three spots as village trustee, the opportunity for a slim margin of victory is a real possibility.

Which is why Buffalo Grove voters need to note Moynihan’s pontification. The April 2 election is for Village Board, not student council. The village, and this is not breaking news, has some hefty issues in front of it from business and economic development to aging infrastructure.

The village doesn’t need cheerleaders or candidates with personal or business interests. It needs elected officials who are strategically acute and mindful of issues facing both sides of Lake-Cook Road.

People have asked me if I will endorse any candidates.

The answer is no. While I’m flattered that some people may value my opinion, it is, in my mind (which some people think could be a dangerous place to be) incumbent upon residents to do their own research and make up their own minds. This, by the way, means going beyond the Silly Putty that has been bouncing around on the aforementioned social media.

In any election, candidates have ideas, as well they should. The unfortunate reality is that in many cases the ideas are, as the late Al McGuire would say, little more than “seashells and balloons.”

There is plenty of information available about key issues facing the village online, at Village Hall and at the village’s website. The bottom line is this -- informed citizens make the best voters.

Conversely, transparent candidates make the best elected officials.  It’s one reason that when I decided to post candidate profiles, I posted their responses verbatim because it’s important for voters to hear directly from the candidates without my interpretation.

Do I have views about each candidate? Absolutely. They are based on not only what I have learned from their ideas, but how I think they would meld into what I know about village plans. A few people asked me if I had plans to run for Village Board. The answer was a quick no.

That’s not because I am not interested in serving the community, but because even though I attend nearly every Village Board meeting (yes, I must be crazy) I know my limitations in some key areas that would limit my effectiveness as a village board member.

If nothing else, in addition to learning about village plans for everything from economic development to the renovation of storm sewers, I have learned that being an elected village official takes more, as noted, than touting personal interests. It requires understanding the needs of the entire village and being prepared to learn the details and make logical and practical decisions – not emotional ones.

There is, however, a more important position in the village. As the late Louis Brandeis noted, “"The most important political office is that of the private citizen."

And to successfully hold that office, especially as election day approaches, it requires careful review of candidate’s positions, backgrounds and ideas so the officials we elect, whether to the village board or a school board, are the most qualified to serve the entire village.