Fron the Candidate: Endorsements don't reflect community's interest

As a business, a newspaper sells advertisements as a way of inducing the public to buy the paper and the advertised goods. They feature news and editorials.

While both of these are about the community, they do not necessarily represent what is best for the community but must represent what is best for the business.

A union or association as a business must achieve the best wage/benefits or contract/work conditions for its membership, and thereby assure its own corporate health. Likewise, it too, by its very nature, will not represent the community's interests first or even at all.

As a candidate for the mayor's position, I did not seek nor expect any endorsements other than by the voters. I was not disappointed. I am, however, glad that such a clear distinction is visible for you, the voters.

They have made it almost too easy for me to show you how they really view the population of our city. If you are not a politician, don't even bother to show up because you weren't invited, and you are of no use to them. You don't matter, and you certainly do not have a voice in your community.

If the freeway, drainage, sheriff, fire, 911, etc., were not issues, if the community's fiscal health were assured, if all the legal opinions requested by the city were issued, if we were not facing increased taxes, decreased level of service, if, if, if.

And the most important "if" of all, if someone other than career politicians had advanced their candidacy, I could have stood by also saying, "Boy, somebody ought to do something about that stuff, it just isn't right." Well, nobody else did, and I couldn't bear to watch any longer.

There is a better way, there just isn't any room for lifelong career politicians any longer. Just say no to the underachievers. Just say no to the double-dipper waiting to give your tax dollars and your city to the special interest groups that support that illegitimate candidacy.

Just remember the supervisor who left all his board and commission seats the year before he left his supervisor's seat. Just remember the countdown at every board of supervisors meeting when he let it be known he couldn't wait to leave. Just remember the phone calls that went unreturned to the supervisor at the state office. Just remember before you vote. Just throw the rascals out.

Please make your vote count. Don't let them feel it's theirs to do with as they please. If you think your vote doesn't count, here are some numbers for you to crunch.

53,000 population in Carson City

25,000 registered to vote

12,000 will vote in general elections

5,000 might vote in a primary (all numbers approximate)

What this means in a primary is those participants are voting as if they were 10. Think about that.

Think about how it makes me feel not to have received an endorsement from any group knowing that that endorsement might not be in the public's best interest.

It feels pretty darn good to have integrity and to be noticed for it.

(Neil A. Weaver is a candidate for Carson City mayor.

Editor's note: Candidates may submit one column on a topic of their choosing to the Nevada Appeal prior to the Sept. 5 primary election. The column should be no more than 500 words. The same offer will be extended for candidates in the general election.)