To be pondered

Also, as someone who has served in an elected position, there is a view I hold in addition to the one laid out above. It relates not only to what Jackie is apparently doing, but to what a lot of politicians do. Too many get elected to office and then stay in politics for too long. This is true of politicians on both sides of the aisle, as evidenced currently in the Senate with Mitch McConnell, (Rep., Kentucky), and Dianne Feinstein, (Dem., California). 

Not all the blame can be aimed at the elected officials. Some resides with the voters and some, too, with the system that has developed in our republic over the years. However, regardless of the tendency of voters or the system, it ultimately comes down to the individuals who repeatedly run for office. It is they, after all, who agree to have their names appear on the ballot over and over again.

I know from experience and being in the mix with elected officials, one of the reasons folks endeavor to remain in office for so long is because of the identity that comes with the position. It dangerously can become part of one’s ego and subsequently, it can become difficult to imagine life any other way. The phenomena is no different than what may be experienced by a professional athlete or CEO of a company. There’s the status, the privilege, power and presumed importance one feels they hold. Letting go of it all can be hard to do.

Personally, when I was looking into a future without Monday night council meetings every other week, the feeling was one of relief, not gloom and doom. Yes, I knew there would be some adjustment but, honestly, it came quickly and easily. 

For starters, the amount of time absorbed by being on council was quickly realized and I appreciated gaining it back as my own. So was being able to sit at a restaurant with my wife and not have another patron interrupt our dinner (Yes, that type of scenario happened frequently). Please understand, I don’t begrudge the folks who interrupted our meals. It’s a positive aspect of local representation to be able to see your elected officials around town. However, it is a relief to be just another someone at the grocery store, coffee shop or restaurant, just minding one’s own business while others mind theirs.

To Jackie directly, I offer the words of Robert Frost from his poem titled, “Reluctance.”

The opening stanza reads:

“Out through the fields and woods

And over the walls I have wended;

I have climbed the hills of view

And looked at the world and descended;

I have come by the highway home,

And lo, it is ended.

Frost concludes with the last stanza:

“And when to the heart of man

Was it ever less than a treason

To go with the drift of things,

To yield with a grace to reason,

And bow and accept the end

Of a love or a season.”

Because the renowned poet has rendered the message far better than I ever could, I will leave it there to be pondered.

A former member of the San Carlos City Council and mayor, Matt Grocott has been involved in political policy on the Peninsula for 17 years. He can be reached by email at mattgrocott@comcast.net.