NAAACC COMMENTARY:
Will NW Huntsville experience a 'real change' after the runoff city elections? I don't think so, just saying...
By Jerry Mitchell, North Alabama African-American Chamber of Commerce (NAAACC)

Blighted property, Reid Ace Hardware on North Memorial Parkway.

Budget After this week all local elections will be decided. In the prior month I was often asked why the results were as they turned out and what I expected going forward. Often I answered by saying that the results reflected effectiveness or ineffectiveness of campaign efforts and that nothing has really changed.

Typically incumbent politicians have the power and privilege of an officeholder to use to their advantage. They can generally position themselves to highlight what they have done for their constituents and trumpet what they will do in the future, you know the old "if it ain't broke" theme. This works well unless the incumbent has allowed some hot issue to derail any goodwill they may have earned while in office. Another way to lose is to fail to recognize the need to update your campaign approach. Just because something has worked in the past doesn't mean it will do job from now to infinity. Or perhaps we could have a situation of overconfidence where a politician may feel that they are invincible and cannot be beaten.

In any of aforementioned instances a connection with the constituency has been lost, because if you are listening to the folks that you represent, they will let you know that you have veered off course. But that can only happen if the politician is actively engaged and listening to the people, and that means not just waiting until someone complains, but intentionally surveying your constituents.

And now the second part of my statement, "nothing has really changed" and I might add, "or will change", after the elections have concluded. Why? Well look at the power base of this city, and ask yourself if it will change after October 4. The answer is clearly no! I have heard talk of a shift in the balance of power, which is absolutely laughable, because that would suggest that power has been shared. If that were really the case, where are the Twickenham Districts, Whole Food Plazas, the Providence Village, TIFs etc. in North Huntsville? If that was something to believe, you wouldn't have situations where the same names show up on 4 to 5 city boards. In a city of over 185,000 people should that happen? Yes, the same old power base will still be in play operating from the same "business as usual" playbook after October 4.

As long as we the citizens allow the power base to remain comfortable in doing what they do and have always done, nothing changes. I'm just saying.