Brian Hughes' report on Countryview Park's upgrades, which include additional picnic tables, safety padding around the posts supporting basketball goals and a vandalism-resistant drinking fountain, got me thinking.
While reading the story, I thought of how Bill Cox — who earned his Crestview City Council seat unchallenged — was so vocal last year in his concerns for the park, and how that might have affected the campaign trail.
It's easy to see apathy as a source of Cox's and JB Whitten's automatic in to the City Council. (You'll recall that they didn't need to campaign or go through debates like our mayoral candidates. No one wanted to run against them.)
But what if residents saw Cox's efforts, and Whitten's, and realized these were civic-minded men actively engaged in their community, and they really were the best men for the job, so why run against them? (Remember, Whitten, a retired teacher and former Air Force non-commissioned officer, managed Seniors vs. Crime's Crestview office and served as the North Okaloosa Republican Club's former president, and Cox — who ran unsuccessfully for the City Council in 2013 — sat on the Crestview Board of Adjustment.)
When I see what positive change Cox already spurred as a private citizen, it makes me see the glass half-full.
What's your view? Write a letter to the editor or tweet News Bulletin Editor Thomas Boni.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview councilmen's 'automatic in' may be due to qualifications