Two tests to attract your votes

On Tuesday, Kootenai County residents are going to select a couple dozen people to represent them on city councils and on fire district boards. Who’s going to get your vote?

For these positions, we recommend two qualifications above the rest.

First, we encourage you to choose individuals with proven track records of community service. Fire district commissioners are volunteers, so their remuneration is little more than pitching in to make their district safer. City council members do get paid, but not livable wages. Their motivation lies elsewhere.

Any candidate can say just about anything and make just about any promise. So what they say might encourage or discourage you, but it shouldn’t be your ultimate guide. Because you can’t see into candidates’ hearts, you have to look at their background. In what ways have they served the communities in which they’ve lived? On which nonprofit boards and service clubs have they devoted precious hours away from family? Have they been appointed or elected to public positions before?

We know that with a segment of the voting population these days, political outsiders have an inside track. In local elections, the problem with that approach is that the learning curve is so steep, months or even years can pass before a city council member becomes comfortable and effective. The very best predictor of future performance is past performance, and blanks on the public service ledger should give voters serious hesitation.

The other qualification of great importance, in our view, is candidates’ ability and willingness to listen. That doesn’t mean a candidate will end up agreeing with everything you think, but effective listening is essential for good governance to take place. Nobody knows it all, and only good listeners can actually learn.

The Press has been publishing profiles on candidates in your area that we hope have gone beyond campaign rhetoric and painted a picture of performance. As last-minute advertisements and mailers come to you through this newspaper or the postal service, focus on public service track records and evidence of effective listening. Everything else is just going to be noise.