The Future seems Brighter in New Albany

This week in MY FRIDAY COLUMN (which appears in the weekend edition of the News and Tribune due to the Veterans Day Holiday)  I take a look at the future of our city after the Municipal elections this week.

THE FUTURE SEEMS BRIGHTER IN NEW ALBANY

Jeff Gahan earlier this year as
as he kicked off his campaign 

The votes have all been counted and the winners have all been declared (pending a challenge from Floyd County Republicans).  Hopefully all of the signs have been packed away and will not return until late next spring. The election is over and we finally know who the new mayor of New Albany will be.  We also know who he will need to work with on the city council when the new year begins.  Now it is time to start planning for the future of our city.

Beginning on January 1st, 2012. Mayor-Elect Jeff Gahan had better be prepared to hit the ground running because the citizens of New Albany have a track record of turning on our leaders pretty quickly.  The President of the United States usually has an unofficial deadline of 100 days to make his mark on the American people, the mayor of New Albany usually gets called out by the time of the first snow storm.

Since 1970 only two people have ever been re-elected in New Albany.  We have a current streak of three straight single term mayors that were all first elected with a considerable margin.  Why have the citizens of New Albany been so quick to turn on the mayor that they elect while continuing to send the same people back to the city council?

Many of the candidates that ran in this year’s election talked of  more cooperation between the new mayor’s administration and the city council.  Over the last several year’s the animosity between the administration and the council had gotten so bad the mayor just quit going to council meetings at all.  With six of Mayor-elect Gahan’s colleagues on the city council surviving reelection he should have a good working relationship with the new council that will take the oath of office on New Year’s Day.

I look forward to a city council and an administration with a plan for cooperation instead of  the animosity that has been evident over the last several years.  As long as the campaign promises were not just rhetoric, the future of our city is looking better after this week’s election.  

What would a New Albany that is run with cooperation look like? 

I hope that it gets cleaner.  Stricter code enforcement with enforceable laws with teeth to get the job done.  If we could get the city to look a little nicer it would go a long way attracting people that would like to invest their money here.  Attracting new businesses and filling some of our vacant housing will help in expanding our tax base which will ease the burden of the citizens who already call New Albany their home. 

With the mayor and city council working together maybe the roads would get paved before pot holes that are capable of consuming small cars are visible.  The vote to approve this years plan to pave streets was taken at the last city council meeting.  Wouldn’t it make a lot more sense to approve the plan at the beginning of the year then wait to argue about it in fall and try to squeeze it in before the weather turns bad?  

If the new Mayor and city council members are willing to work together maybe the leaders in Floyd County will be willing to sit down and discuss more equitable funding of joint ventures like the NA-FC Parks Department and a combined 911 center.  Some people believe that the parks are less important than other things.  I argue that a thriving system of parks and recreation would go a long way in revitalizing the pride in the citizens of New Albany.  Maybe 2012 is the year that we can finally break ground on a new outdoor swimming facility.

Jeff Gahan probably hasn’t had enough time to relax since his election on Tuesday night.  He has a lot of work to do between now and the first of the year to assemble his team who will lead New Albany into the future.  I look forward to seeing what the Gahan administration has in store for us and wish him the best of luck.

In his acceptance speech Tuesday night after his landslide victory Mr. Gahan said“ when we all work together our minds become stronger and our future becomes much brighter.”   After every election there is always the idea of a brighter future ahead.  I look forward to that future and am proud to be a part of it.