Local election hitting a sour note

In elementary school I participated in the school band. I can remember my parents making me practice “Mary Had a Little Lamb” over and over again. I also recall our Christmas concert, an ill-fated evening for one of the band members. We were well into the concert when Mr. Regney, our band director, could be heard whispering to young Bryan in the front row, “Play Bryan, play.”

Finally, we began to hear a squeak from Bryan. The squeak, however, was not from his violin strings, but instead the sound of his music stand being raised to hide his reddening face. Bryan had stage fright and tears running down his cheeks. He was mortified and worked diligently to maneuver that music stand in front of his face to spare himself some pain.

That was 20-something years ago and I remember that story often (it helps that we have it on videotape).

Ironically, local politics always makes me think about Bryan; he is now the public information officer for the town I grew up in. He is the mayor’s right-hand man and spends much of his time these days in the spotlight. And that is exactly where he belongs. In fact, all of our elected officials and their staff should be in the spotlight.

Now, what does Bryan have to do with Bluffton? For me Bryan is a symbol – he is the reason I try to be well informed, a responsibility that we should all share.

As Bluffton prepares for our local election on Dec. 5, I find myself wondering: Just who are the three candidates for Bluffton Town Council?

Other than some short bios on the candidates in the local papers, I haven’t seen these candidates out and about sharing their story or their desire to hold public office. Shouldn’t they be trying to gain our vote and educate us?

Willis Latham seems to have hit a minor bump in the road with questions regarding the reasons for his separation from the Bluffton Police Department after 10 years.
Willis, I beg you, send out a press release, stick a flier in my mailbox. Tell me something that will help me make my decision.

Thomas Heyward, where do you hang your hat? He tried a run once before, in 1998, but withdrew his name when it was realized that he wasn’t living in the Pine House in historic Bluffton. Second time is a charm?

Adding to my concern, I think a candidate should always ask themselves, “Have I ever failed to pay taxes when I was supposed to?” before deciding to run for office. If the answer is “no,” perhaps another career path should be considered. Mr. Heyward, how do you respond to someone who asks you this question?

From what I have seen, Charlie Wetmore has done the best job of educating the people. He has a Web site— charliewetmoreforcouncil.com - and although limited on content, you can get a sense for what Wetmore considers the important issues.

However, Wetmore has also blanketed the perimeter of my neighborhood (his neighborhood, too) with campaign signs, which I will admit has rubbed me the wrong way. (This becomes another issue and maybe fodder for another “what’s the deal with these POAs” column.)

If a winner was determined based on total campaign signs, Wetmore would win in a landslide. While a campaign sign offers name recognition it does not provide the cold, hard facts.

Bottom line? I long for good old-fashioned debates, public forums and grassroots, door-todoor campaigns. The “old days” allowed you to look a candidate in the eye, shake his hand and perhaps feel at ease.

There’s good news: The Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters is hosting a candidates’ debate at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Bluffton High School.

Be diligent, Bluffton. Educate yourself. Get involved. And I challenge you — put North vs. South, illegal immigration, traffic patterns on U.S. 278 and Tom Kat’s wedding discussions on the shelf. Instead, spend the next 12 days learning about the candidates and asking questions.

Attend Wednesday’s debate.

Let’s make sure our elected officials and candidates are never caught hiding their faces again.