There is a maxim in the journalistic profession that teaches “it’s better to sin by omission than by commission.” As a public servant, it is probably safe for me to say that it’s better to sin by commission than by omission. As residents and as stakeholders, we must all commit to making Plainfield a better place; we must commit to eternal vigilance, greater participation, and to be keepers of our brothers and sisters; they are our neighbors and friends.
As residents and community-minded individuals, we have an obligation not only to ourselves and our families but to our community as well. We have a fiduciary duty to protect our city for the benefit of the next generation, who will be the heirs to an inheritance that can only flourish and grow if protected by leaders who are willing to be strong in the face of mounting pressures from forces of the City’s harsh economic realities.
Our leaders must be willing to put themselves on the line for the greater good and must never allow their personal self-interest to be elevated above the interest of the people. They must not allow forces of the prevailing winds to divide and conquer so that they appear compromised and neutralized. We must all work together.
As guardians of our fate, our duty is to hold all elected officials accountable and to the very highest standard of ethics, professionalism, and job performance. We must see to it that partnerships exist amongst all stakeholders within our community--the faith community, the Board of Education, and the block and neighborhood associations--in order to create a better Plainfield.
We must stand as one unified community without a need for uniformity, and we must be willing to disagree without being disagreeable. And, although this requires us to be defenders if and when necessary, and ebullient with praise when deserving, it also places on us a duty to be constructively critical of our leaders when warranted.
The failures of the current administration over the past three and a half years cannot be ignored; such failures should energize voters to go to the polls in droves on Tuesday June 2nd to vote for the change that is needed to move the city forward.
Many are they who would have you believe that cooperation has in its recipe the ingredients of uniformity, blind faith and allegiance to a political boss, a feeble desire to disagree, a weakened state of being, and no back bone.
I believe that a spirit of cooperation can be achieved without trading our morals and our values. Unity can exist without uniformity and for us to cooperate doesn’t mean that we must capitulate.
I have every confidence that we will work together for a better Plainfield, and that though a forward thrust might have been temporarily slowed by the failures of the current administration, our vision for our city will not be derailed and we will remain focused and on track.
I will always be “for the cause that needs assistance; against the wrongs that need resistance; for the future in the distance, and the good that I [we] can do.”
I urge you to come out next Tuesday and vote for me, Adrian Mapp, Rick Smiley, and the entire New Democratic team in column F, vote for change; vote for Plainfield’s future.
Regards,
Adrian O. Mapp
3rd Ward Councilman
President, New Democrats for Plainfield
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