County View
As I was patted down and made worthy of initial passage through the regal doors of the Mobile County Commission auditorium, I thought I heard the guard ask me, “Are you now or have you in the past been associated with Jeffrey Poor, one of your Lagniappe predecessors and now an alleged correspondent based in Washington D.C.?”
Of course I would answer no, and truthfully. I’ve never met the guy and as far as I know he could be a nom de plume of Rob Holbert.
Then I felt the piercing eyes of the guard and knew he was looking for it. Well I knew not to bring it, having read Poor’s County View columns and his bold attempts to pass the gates with his notebook computer. No, I would take notes the old fashioned way.
Strangely, as I entered the auditorium with others attending the bi-weekly meeting, I felt a sense of kinship. I had been allowed inside, and would now be a citizen and reporter privileged to the inner-workings of County business.
Seems after the tumultuous escapades on merit pay raises and unmerited healthcare cost increase, this meeting on Feb. 11 was fodder for sleep. When I awoke it had just been adjourned and staff from the Sheriff’s Flotilla were smiling, happy their budget had been approved.
Seriously, I didn’t sleep and there were a few items of interest, in development, stay tuned, here soon!
Meanwhile, I turn the floor back over to Commissioner Merceria Ludgood, in continuance of my interview with her in the last issue:
Q. I have this idea of you one day taking a shot at being Mayor and maybe later Governor and maybe even a place somewhere in Washington? Would I be off-track on that? Would you consider any of those goals?
ML: In my high school memory book I listed as my goal to be Governor of Alabama by my 30th birthday. That should give some idea as to how I saw myself and, indeed, this state’s potential for change. It also reflects my naiveté and lack of knowledge about Alabama politics and the politics of race. A long time female Democratic operative told me that I was too old to be running for County Commissioner, that I was too old to be, in her words, “starting at the bottom.” I thought at lot about her statement because she generally has good political instincts. What she did not know about me is that my only interest in elected office is the good I can do. It is not about building a name for myself, nor is it a career path. Neither of those considerations has ever motivated me, nor do they now.
I don’t know what lies ahead for me in the political realm. I see myself being a mentor for talented young people who will take up the torch. Hopefully I can help make easier their paths to public service. They should be able to dream bigger dreams than my generation. Our dreams were greater than our parents, as theirs should be greater than ours.
There is an old poem attributed to Will Allen Dromgoole called “The Bridge Builder.” In that poem the bridge builder is an old man who is asked the question why “he builds a bridge in the evening tide” at the end of his life. The bridge builder answers “good friend in the path I have come there followeth after me today, a youth whose feet must pass this way. This chasm that has been naught to me, to that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be. He, too, must cross in the twilight dim; good friend, I am building that bridge for him.”
So-called higher office may not be in the cards for me but it is my pledge to be a “bridge builder” for those who aspire to the high calling of public service.
Q. While you were a Kellogg Fellow you were able to travel around the world and meet other women leaders. Can you share a little of that experience. Does any one woman leader stand out during those travels?
ML: There were so many women who made invaluable contributions that it is difficult to select one. There is a woman in Jamaica who is a domestic worker. She organized the women into a union and then lobbied the legislative body to establish a minimum wage. Domestic workers comprise a major part of the workforce. Her efforts transformed the lives of these women and their families. Notwithstanding, she sees herself as a “just a domestic worker” and not the powerful leader she is. The two seem inconsistent to her. This woman is emblematic of the millions of women in this country and in the world who are making a difference in the lives of the people they serve, often without recognition and acclaim.
Our society elevates elected and appointed officials but the most meaningful change is forged by private citizens hard at work in their respective communities. That work then trickles up to the seats of power. Unfortunately, too many elected officials abdicate their opportunity to spark change by seeking the safe plateau of status quo.
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Contact Preston Brady at preston@lagniappemobile.com.
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