I heard my new theme song this week on my trip to Texas City to visit my Galveston hair stylist. I hadn't heard this song in a long time, but I found myself belting it out as I drove 45. Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It." Ok, you can stop laughing at me now.
Perhaps I'm moving into the "Anger" part of the Stages of Grief (see last Saturday's post for that explanation), but I'm tired of the Island being thrown under the proverbial bus. I seriously thought Paul Burka's pathetic attempt at gothic mourning would send me out my office window (see this month's Texas Monthly for that piece of optimism). And his is just one in quite a few recent attempts at justifying letting the Island lay down to die. So what to do with all of this pent-up rage? What do all of us do? Whether it is from the insurance game, the Great Permit Wait of '08, the utter lack of people skills by our leaders? The list goes on and on.
We desperately need a figurehead right now - a spokesperson really. (I'll steer clear of overall management and leadership capacity at this point). We need communication, some serious PR that communicates a unified vision, backed up by a concrete, enforceable plan. Hell, we needed that before the Storm, but now it is more serious than ever. We Islanders need that too. We need a leader who presents a vision that will bring together an Island that is truly a place to live, work, raise a family while promoting the tourism industry that represents the variety of attractions this Island has to offer like ecotourism, historic tourism, fishing, the beaches, etc. Admittedly this is no small feat as one must not only deal with the political minefield that is Galveston interest groups but must present a cohesive plan that values and preserves our state's precious history, environmental landscape, as well as creates a diversified workforce with multiple economic engines. Oh, and we need some regulations and actual capacity to ensure quality planning and code enforcement (hello Broadway).
A few folks have come out of the gate here lately. I don't know Gerald Sullivan and am only familiar with what the Daily News has written. But, I do know this. If he is going to lead this recovery committee, he's going to have to step up and speak to the Island as well as bring together the best and the brightest the Island has to offer, and again, represents the Island. For example, if this Island truly cares about middle class flight (anyone out there know who qualifies as middle class on this Island?), you better put some of us on that committee and include an achievable plan as part of recovery. And I'm just saying here - whether it is fair or not, he's going to have to build trust with some of my fellow Islanders. The brouhaha (love that word) that is his family's interest on the Island and the East End Flat's drama befitting only an episode of "All My Children" is his burden to bear. It may not be right. It may not be fair. It is what it is. And nobody knows this better than Islanders.
One last thing. I'd like to give a shout-out to my boy, U.S. Representative Chet Edwards (D) from Waco for truly leading an effort to support the Island post-Ike. Check out the Daily News today for a story on this. That's the kind of leadership we need. Thanks for taking the bull by the horns Chet.
Perhaps I'm moving into the "Anger" part of the Stages of Grief (see last Saturday's post for that explanation), but I'm tired of the Island being thrown under the proverbial bus. I seriously thought Paul Burka's pathetic attempt at gothic mourning would send me out my office window (see this month's Texas Monthly for that piece of optimism). And his is just one in quite a few recent attempts at justifying letting the Island lay down to die. So what to do with all of this pent-up rage? What do all of us do? Whether it is from the insurance game, the Great Permit Wait of '08, the utter lack of people skills by our leaders? The list goes on and on.
We desperately need a figurehead right now - a spokesperson really. (I'll steer clear of overall management and leadership capacity at this point). We need communication, some serious PR that communicates a unified vision, backed up by a concrete, enforceable plan. Hell, we needed that before the Storm, but now it is more serious than ever. We Islanders need that too. We need a leader who presents a vision that will bring together an Island that is truly a place to live, work, raise a family while promoting the tourism industry that represents the variety of attractions this Island has to offer like ecotourism, historic tourism, fishing, the beaches, etc. Admittedly this is no small feat as one must not only deal with the political minefield that is Galveston interest groups but must present a cohesive plan that values and preserves our state's precious history, environmental landscape, as well as creates a diversified workforce with multiple economic engines. Oh, and we need some regulations and actual capacity to ensure quality planning and code enforcement (hello Broadway).
A few folks have come out of the gate here lately. I don't know Gerald Sullivan and am only familiar with what the Daily News has written. But, I do know this. If he is going to lead this recovery committee, he's going to have to step up and speak to the Island as well as bring together the best and the brightest the Island has to offer, and again, represents the Island. For example, if this Island truly cares about middle class flight (anyone out there know who qualifies as middle class on this Island?), you better put some of us on that committee and include an achievable plan as part of recovery. And I'm just saying here - whether it is fair or not, he's going to have to build trust with some of my fellow Islanders. The brouhaha (love that word) that is his family's interest on the Island and the East End Flat's drama befitting only an episode of "All My Children" is his burden to bear. It may not be right. It may not be fair. It is what it is. And nobody knows this better than Islanders.
One last thing. I'd like to give a shout-out to my boy, U.S. Representative Chet Edwards (D) from Waco for truly leading an effort to support the Island post-Ike. Check out the Daily News today for a story on this. That's the kind of leadership we need. Thanks for taking the bull by the horns Chet.
Right on Lauren
Thanks for this great post...
I think you should consider running for city government. We need people like you with passion for the island and a vision of what it can be in the future.