The election is over, now what

The City Council election is over and many Cameron citizens will now be asking themselves, what comes next.

Unfortunately, too often, after an election, whether your candidate won or lost, people in smaller towns, do nothing. They sit back and wait, wait to see what comes next, wait to see if the candidates will live up to the promises they made, wait to see if the change they hope for is coming. Social media goes quiet for a minute as people simply sit back and wait.

We would like to encourage you NOT to wait, not to sit back idly and wait to see what comes next. Many people voiced a number of opinions on what and how things in the city would go if their candidate was elected. Many people voiced opinions on how things SHOULD go. Whether your candidate won or lost, this is still your city and you have a voice in how it is governed moving forward.

You cannot and should not expect the City Council to simply watch your social media feeds or forums to get the opinion of the people of Cameron. First of all, only a handful of the entire population participates in social media and voices their opinions there and not all of the City Council is on social media, nor should they be expected to be.

If you truly want your voice heard, go to City Council meetings, go to Park Board meetings, go to Planning and Zoning meetings, go to the work sessions, see for yourself what is being said and how things are being done, then voice your opinions AT THOSE MEETINGS – to be sure your voice is being heard. Write letters to the editor to this newspaper. The City now has options for having your questions answered, don’t feel those are adequate, we’d like to invite you to submit your questions to us here at the newspaper and we will sit down with the various boards and city staff, ask your questions and publish their answers.

Please, do not rely solely upon the opinions and information from your neighbors to keep you informed, find out for yourself.

With encouraging people to come to City Council meetings especially, there is one thing everyone should know – this is fact, not opinion – the City Council and City Manager are limited on how much they can discuss with the public during public participation at City Council meetings, because of STATE Sunshine Laws – which state any items to be discussed at City Council meetings MUST be publicly posted before being discussed at the meeting. So you should feel free to stand up and state your opinions at City Council meetings, but please try to understand if they do not answer you right then, it is not because they don’t want to, it is because they are limited by state law.

So take advantage of the multiple ways you can get your questions answered. The minutes of all City Council meetings are posted on the City website, we here at the newspaper are offering video recordings of nearly all meetings on our website. We do articles on the meetings to try to keep the public informed. Use all those sources and then still seek out answers on your own.

Each candidate and current serving member of the City Council made statements and promises about the next steps they would take. It is up to the citizens of the City to be sure they live up to their word.

Above all, don’t wait, don’t post your opinions on social media and expect your voice to be heard, go to the meetings, write letters to the editor, send us your questions.
This is your City, the work is just beginning, get involved, stay involved and make sure your voice continues to be heard.