Diversity? The question should be who they are, rather than what they are

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

The altar of diversity

Dear Editor:

I was pleased to see the editorial by Heather Beaven, “In Pursuit of a Representative Government,” in the Nov. 24 Palm Coast Observer. Not because I agreed with it — far from it — but it because brought into the open the foolishness of those people like Ms. Beaven who worship at the altar of diversity.

According to her, we cannot have a good representative government unless the elected officials mirror the racial, gender and ethnic (among others) makeup of those people who are represented.

Pardon me, but what hogwash! People should be judged on their character, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, or any other factor for which they have no choice.

Why should we select our elected representatives any differently than we do our friends or associates? I don’t know of anyone who first looks at a person’s race, ethnicity, or sex before deciding whether that person can be a friend or business associate. The first thing we all want to know about them is their character. Are they trustworthy, kind, funny, thoughtful, have good judgment, etc.? Then we decide whether we would want them as a friend or associate.

You want only the best for your friends and associates and that is the same way about our representatives.

What ideas do they have? Can they be trusted? Do they have integrity? Do they work hard? These are among many questions we want to know about candidates for elective office. The question should be who they are, rather than what they are.

Thankfully the voters chose to reject the likes of Ms. Beaven at the ballot box, and we can only hope that others of her ilk will meet the same fate when they run.

Mike McGuire

Palm Coast

Be responsible with your campaign signs

Dear Editor:

This letter is to inform your readers of a local situation that although quite small in significance needs to be addressed.

I just finished my campaign and was elected to the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners. One of the efforts of most of our city and county candidates during the campaign is to erect large campaign signs at major road intersections and near our highways to hopefully improve our chances of being elected.

On private property, you are directed to get approval from the landowner before installing the signs. All well and good, but there is one last action required on the signs: The candidate is responsible for removing the signs in a timely manner.

In the days following the election, I have done that, including taking the wood frames apart and carrying the frames and signs away, leaving the location as it was.

What I have seen from other candidates is that many of the signs are ripped off the wood frames, but the wood is left standing or thrown down and left at the site to rot and look bad.

This small situation does not reflect well on our candidates, and if I were a landowner I would not be very encouraged to give permission to use the site again for campaign signs.

It is impossible to tell which candidate is guilty of this action since the signs with their names were removed and only the wood frames remain. So in the future, when campaigns complain about getting access for signs, I hope they remember this situation.

Finally, after I removed all the wood frames and nails from the 40 8-foot 2-by-4s, I donated them to Habitat for Humanity for possible reuse. As I said above, this is no big deal but a little extra effort turns a possible mess into something positive.

Dave Sullivan

Palm Coast