I wanted to provide a disclaimer before my next blog post. On my belief, that band members should be able to freely vocalize their opinions about elected officials’ performance, whether it is good or bad. Of course, opinions should be based on facts. As such, I want to say that any critique of each elected member will be based on their work as an elected official. This will include the response (or non-response) I received from each member on addressing the issues I have brought forth.
So far, certain elected leaders take any critique of their job performance as a personal attack. Regardless, my objective is to separate their personal life from their official work as an elected leader. As a band member, I will focus my evaluation on:
- Transparency
- Providing accurate and timely information to the people.
- This includes corrections to any information released to band members.
2. Accountability
- Standing behind their decisions and providing a justifiable rationale.
- Willing to take responsibility for mishaps and correcting it as well.
3. Strategic Planning
- Are the actions committed to appropriate?
- Are the commitments feasible to rectify my issues?
- Are the promises masked as political stunts meant to save face?
4. Fiscal Responsibility
- Is there a budget for the actions committed to?
- I want a leader who will responsibly manage their department. This means that they may need to include their commitments into the upcoming fiscal year’s plan.
5. Openness
- Freely communicating any strategy to all interested band members.
6. Public Conduct
- How each has conducted themselves during the process.
As band members, we can evaluate Chief and Council on their job performance. We should grant elected officials their privacy when it comes to their personal life. However, if their personal life starts to interfere with their performance as an elected official, then it should be considered.
With that, I will welcome each member of Chief and Council to politics. An environment where your conduct and decisions are scrutinized so, developing a thick skin is necessary. Where voters will make their ultimate critique on your performance in the upcoming election. So best not to delay improving your execution of the position!