Editorial: It's time to expect more from our elected officials

Photo by Bob Lickter The Nevada City council applauds after Reinette Senum is sworn in as mayor last year.

When the times are good, it is fine to be the guardians of the public domain and protectors of all that has been deemed essential to our essence. Times have changed, however.

It’s not easy being just a regular citizen anymore.

 As our familiar world crumbles and begins to reshape itself into a new society, our elected leaders and politicians seem stuck in a time warp.

 President Obama’s and Congress’s inability to pass meaningful health-care reform has been just the most recent in a string of disappointments at the national level. The Washington lawmakers are stuck in an endless cycle of partisan wars that has done more harm than good to most Americans.

 Our own Rep. Tom McClintock continues his pattern of staying squarely focused on partisanship. He released a statement Wednesday condemning a TV talk show host for what he said about the Massachusetts senate race. In the meantime, we have double-digit unemployment in the Fourth District.

 There’s no hope for real change at the state level. It has its own seemingly insurmountable problems after all.

 So this brings us to the issue of local leadership and, coincidently, it is an election year. Two seats are open on the Nevada City council and two on the Nevada County Board of Supervisors. Election Day is June 8.

 When the times are good, it is fine to be the guardians of the public domain and protectors of all that has been deemed essential to our essence. Times have changed, however.

 Now is the time for the City Council and the Board of Supervisors to become the leaders in the bid to pump life into our fragile economy and instill in us the belief that government really is on our side.

 Our elected officials and the candidates for the open seats need to focus their energies and ideas on job development and creating a more business-friendly environment. We can no longer rest on our laurels. Yes, this is a beautiful place to live, but we need a place where people can earn a living as well.