There’s plenty of small town talent

Whether you like her politics or not, if you’re an islander you’ve got to like Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate.

Whether you like her politics or not, if you’re an islander you’ve got to like Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate.

John McCain’s running mate proves what we’ve known all along, that high public office should not be reserved for the elite. There are plenty of people qualified to be president or vice president throughout the U.S., including Alaska and Whidbey Island. Just because you think Yale is a brand of padlock and Oxford is where the cows cross the river doesn’t mean you can’t run a government.

With her background as a small town mayor and scant two years as Alaska’s governor, Palin surprised the nation last Wednesday night by taking the fight to the media and the other party, showing grit and confidence. Her feisty speech reminds us that America’s strength isn’t its oil reserves, but its people reserves. We have millions of good people who only need a chance to be heard, so in that sense Sarah Palin speaks for all us.

As a small town newspaper editor, I’ve always marveled at the greed and stupidity in Washington, D.C., when wherever I’ve lived, there are far better and more able people serving their communities with no regard for their personal benefit. They bring us our schools, water and sewer systems, fire and police departments, parks, and other local services overseen by elected board members who receive no monetary compensation, or at most a stipend. These board members have extensive experience in business or the professions and conduct their work efficiently and openly. I’ve often wondered, why can’t Congress do that? What’s so hard about serving your community and keeping your own ego and greed out of it? It happens every day in hundreds of communities across America.

We also have our mayors who serve their small towns admirably. Whidbey Island has three, all of whom we could see in high office. Langley Mayor Paul Samuelson has decades of public service to his credit and works skillfully with the various factions in town. And he cuts hair for a living, which is a skill the White House could use. Imagine the progress he could make with Putin while trimming his bristly scalp. Peace has always reigned in Samuelson’s barber shops. Coupeville Mayor Nancy Conard has been balancing school district and town budgets for decades, making tough decisions on hiring and firing while leading the town toward the future. She is easily Palin’s equal, and would be a fine fit on any national ticket. Oak Harbor Mayor Jim Slowik is an ex-Marine with a successful business background, most recently as a used car dealer. If he were president he could talk tough while saving the country thousands just by switching the Secret Service to used SUVs, which are a bargain these days.

What small town America has to offer is people with a wealth of life experience. None enjoyed pampered childhoods with exclusive prep school educations, and their families reflect all the successes and failures that make life so fun and challenging. They weren’t groomed to be president and they didn’t start dreaming and scheming about it at an early age. But they’re certainly fit and able to serve, which is an important lesson the powers that be are learning from Alaska’s governor. No wonder they’re worried. If the people get uppity and think they can run things, it could result in real change.