Louis Orangeo is a resident of Dover.
It was recently announced that there will be an election in Dover on April 15 for five City Council seats. According to the city’s website, under council profiles, the following members’ terms will expire this year: Councilman at Large Andre Boggerty, 1st District Councilman Gerald Rocha, 2nd District Councilman Bill Hare, 3rd District Councilman Fred Neil and 4th District Councilman David Anderson.
To me, a vibrant democracy requires all elections to be competitive. Old ideas and incumbents should be challenged (are they self-serving or selfless-serving?), new awareness should be built, and implicit structures of exclusion shaken up.
Let’s face the facts: A good leader is an individual who makes it a priority to help people and is community service-oriented. These days, I have not seen too much of that. It isn’t about admiring problems; it’s about having a record and the experience to solve them.
I believe that we need leaders who are focused on delivering results and are willing to put differences aside for the good of the city. As a proud 28-year resident of Dover, a retired local business owner and an older adult living on a fixed income, I am increasingly concerned about the trajectory of our city government, our community and the broader downtown area. We need leadership in our city, through which elected officials can roll up their sleeves and bring real solutions to challenges and not always confide in city staff for the answers. (As we have recently seen, the staff is not always correct — for example, the stormwater utility fee increases.)
While watching a recent City Council meeting online, I was surprised by sitting members not being prepared to answer questions by citizens during the public comment section. Quite frankly, it was disappointing. These council members just sat there, like puppets in powerful seats. To me, you’re putting the residents in a terrible position by remaining silent to their questions.
Most importantly, City Council needs to prioritize fiscal responsibility by investing in essential services like law enforcement and street maintenance. Instead of wasting resources on unnecessary administrative positions, the downtown partnership and consultants, council and the mayor should focus on meeting the needs of our residents and enhancing their quality of life. Until our current elected officials find the path to controlling unreasonable property tax increases and utility fees, I won’t support any incumbents in this next election.
Now, I ask: Who is willing to file a petition to run and help make the necessary change for our city?
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
