Be Wisw Not Petty

Well it’s crunch time for the voters of Ponchatoula.  They have to decide if they are going to vote for the benefit of the overall city or vote adhering to what I term the “I’ll show you” self-interest paradigm.

Ponchatoula is one of a very few cities and municipalities state-wide that has no budget deficient.  Its police force has law enforcement facilities and equipment that are leaps and bounds ahead of some of its surrounding communities.  The same can be said about its maintenance department, fire department and EMS responders.

It is truly noteworthy that Ponchatoula is still able to get grant monies for infrastructure improvements from the Feds and state with all the recent cutbacks in that type of funding.  This was mainly due to its ability to attract large tax generating businesses like Walmart, RaceTrac and the new Jani King expansion which all help provide enough matching funds to secure such grants.

Now voters must decide who will continue to guide the city.

Unfortunately some will choose to ignore the broad picture and cast a “I’ll show you” vote because they or someone they know had a personal experience with one of the candidates in which they felt patronized , or partially ignored in a request for service.  Basically they weren’t treated like they expected or didn’t get what they wanted.

 As a knee jerk response they will now cast a vote for another candidate as pay back, ignoring that candidate’s lack of abilities to successfully manage the city.

  

Voting is not a personality or popularity contest.  You are not voting for the king and queen of the senior prom. You are not voting for someone who is just always a ‘nice guy.'  It encompasses a far greater boundary than just you.  It is about the greater good for all who live in Ponchatoula.

All the residents need to decide who will successful guide Ponchatoula for the next four years in terms of continued fiscal responsibility and infrastructure management coupled with the pursuit of a high quality of life?  Which candidate possesses the credentials to succeed at these? 

 

It will take a lot of maturity  to rise above your personal biases and objectively evaluate each candidate’s mayoral qualifications, but there is too much at stake not to!