Mike Pirtle: Council districts ‘awfully risky,’ need thought on The Murfreesboro Post

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Mike Pirtle: Council districts ‘awfully risky,’ need thought

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By: MIKE PIRTLE, Post Contributer

Posted: Sunday, March 21, 2010 12:00 am

Maybe this Murfreesboro election cycle will be different; certainly the entire political spectrum seems to be in constant turmoil in these difficult times.

Council districts appear to be more of a political issue for the April 20 city election than in the past.

Now, keep in mind council districts have been an issue in several city elections, but never gained enough traction to push more than an occasional candidate to election.

This year challenging candidates’ support for districts appears more universal, whether a reflection of overall political turmoil, an agenda pursued by some media outlets or perhaps a general voter groundswell.

We will know late April 20. Well, maybe. The district issue is just part of the equation for voters so the final results would probably have to be pretty overwhelming to give us a clear determination.

Ultimately, voters will likely pick the winners based on their overall qualifications and positions on a number of issues, not just one.

And, with choices in all races, voters certainly have a talented, diverse lineup from which to choose.

The argument for districts seems solid on its foundation, providing more direct representation and a formula to ensure all areas are equally represented.

In practice, our council members have for the great part been pretty responsive to community concerns from whatever area and accessible.

That certainly doesn’t mean everyone gets what he/she wants. I’d like to see required curbside recycling and an indoor tennis facility. Plenty of others feel the same way. But, we aren’t a majority and it hasn’t happened.

Most of city residents have similar wants or possibly the reverse – they may question city spending on greenways or road-repair efficiency.

Do enough of them think district representation will help with their own agendas? Don’t know.

Changing a form of representation that has made Murfreesboro a consistently award-winning exemplary governmental agency seems awfully risky.

Just look at Nashville’s Metro Council. Or the state legislature. Or Congress.

All are district representation, but not examples this community would want to emulate.

•••

Congratulations to the Riverdale Lady Warriors on their impressive march to the Class AAA TSSAA Girls State Basketball Championship.

Finishing the year with a 27-game win streak and only two losses for the season, Riverdale’s girls, coached superbly by Hillary Hodges, won the championship Thursday in their opener against another midstate power, Mt. Juliet, showing tenaciousness in a double-overtime win.

The Lady Warriors were dominant in their last two games, including Saturday night’s finals with tourney MVP Shacobia Barbee just incredible, 87 points in three games and an amazing 23 rebounds in the second contest.

•••

OK, so now the big arena in downtown Nashville is the Bridgestone Center. It used to be Sommet or something after being the GEC for a while and I don’t remember before that.

How about just calling it the Nashville Arena or Music City Center or something? Geez.

Next year I’m betting on Giant Slurpee Concert Hall and Iceyard.

•••

Enjoy this nice spring Sunday … oh, wait.

Tagged under Just Sayin', Mike Pirtle, Voices

Member Opinions:

By: bota on 3/21/10
Mike, does this mean that you would support an at large state legislture or an at large congress? It is related to the area and number to be represented and logic dictates districts. How often is there public debate between council members on any issue or how often does a split vote occur? That ought to send a signal as to what is not happening.