Editorial
It has only been seven days since I sat down to write the words that filled this space in last week’s edition, and before those pages reached the hands of our pressman, a stormfront plowed through West Texas and changed the landscape of our community. In the aftermath of such tragedy, before taking a critical standpoint regarding city leadership, you must wrestle with the question of if the roles were reversed, could you do a better job.
One of the great things about community journalists is they also live in your community, so while largermarket reports flocked to scoop the devastation in Fisher County, they went home... probably to air-conditioned houses. Meanwhile, the Chronicle’s publisher and editor spent many of the days following the storm without power like many others in Fisher County.
Even so, we came into this week with a measure of guilt having split so much of our weekend between reporting news and time with family — especially after devoting almost an entire afternoon to celebrating a grandchild's first birthday.
That guilt worsened when we heard a community meeting had been called to discuss town needs. That guilt melted away when I learned the citizens that called the meeting brought more to the table than the officials in charge, and I was left deflated to the point of frustrated aggravation.
Taking my own advice for a change, before getting too critical of city leadership, I asked myself, if the roles were reversed, could I do a better job... You betcha — although in fairness, I did spend close to a decade operating within the nation’s emergency incident management system.
Nevertheless, when tragedy strikes a city, where are its citizens likely to turn for guidance and leadership? While I am not typically in the habit of answering rhetorical questions, after attending the citizen-called meeting in Rotan on Monday, it’s obvious the question needs answering after all.
Mayor Zach Johnson: Your city is looking to your leadership. When you come to a meeting with a who’swho list of community go-getters five days after an incident telling everyone you have no plan other than what your city administrator has put together, doesn’t bolster a lot of confidence they elected the right guy. Of course, since most of the people in attendance that were concerned with helping Rotan and its citizens don’t live in Rotan, your political reputation is probably undamaged.
What has suffered major damage is your city, and if you become the kind of leader your people need you to be right now, you can rebuild a heck of a lot more than bricks and mortar. You can lay a foundation of community spirit that can tower to unknown heights... that is if you can rise to this occasion, and it can start with a short to-do list.
1. Admit you are looking for solutions like everyone else, and be open to exploring options, even if they run contrary to the city’s coveted cash surplus.
2. Call your county commissioners and establish a cooperative agreement for labor and equipment use.
They have a crappy bulldozer, a new backhoe, and plenty of other toys. With a disaster declaration in place, there is no monetary reason for county officials to say, “no”. Not that they would, but I bet you haven’t asked.
3. Get your public works director to serve as oversight of your citizen workforce. Let the volunteers work while you have them. They will run out before the work does, so let James oversee and document to maximize future reimbursements.
4. Call neighboring city officials in Roby, Hamlin, and Aspermont. Jones, Fisher, and Nolan are all included in the declaration, so the best way to stretch those Texas emergency funds into FEMA funds is to meet that $93 million. Easier to do that when every machine in the county is operating toward disaster relief.
5. Meet with church leaders each evening to learn about other community needs that might go beyond removing debris or assessing damage. People want to know you care about them. Show them you do.
However, leadership — even exceptional leadership — is nothing without those willing to cooperate to accomplish something better. Then the question is, can Rotan cooperate with itself long enough to do it?