West, south Modesto residents show little interest in helping set election boundaries

Wow!

I had no idea so many west Modesto and south Modesto residents were contemplating a run for the City Council next year.

How else do you explain the underwhelming response, the pathetic lack of interest, displayed by west-siders and south-siders alike, when given the chance to join the city commission charged with drawing boundary lines for the six new City Council districts?

Since those serving on the nine-member panel are barred from running for office in 2009, that must mean interest in seeking a City Council position is at an all-time high.

Must be.

Whew! That's good to know.

I mean, for a minute there, it looked as if virtually no one cared.

Just one person living west of Highway 99 applied for a spot on the boundary commission. Happily, she made the cut.

Commission applicants from south Modesto, meanwhile, numbered in the zeroes.

That's ZERO, as in ZIP, NIL, NADA.

Such a sad fact can mean only one thing -- hundreds, maybe thousands, of residents of the "Land That Government Forgot" are gearing up for next year's elections.

Yeah, that's it.

There can be no other explanation.

After decades of enduring what can be described -- at best -- as benign neglect, people living on the "wrong side of the tracks" must be itching for a chance to begin turning City Hall around.

Of course, just who gets that chance all depends on how those pesky boundary lines are drawn.

That's why the dearth of west-side and south-side commission candidates is so puzzling.

Commission members choose the district boundary lines.

Granted, nothing is guaranteed. Just take a look at the some of the political boundary lines drawn by the state and feds.

Yikes!

DOUBLE Yikes!!

I know. Some of it looks pretty bad. But that's no reason to walk away.

Maybe most west-siders and south-siders are satisfied with the way things are. Maybe they still subscribe to that 1980s "don't worry be happy" outlook on life?

There's no reason to believe the commission would purposely draw boundary lines to EXCLUDE anyone, least of all some pain-the-butt community activist.

Right?

I'm sure the people living on the other side of town, and that describes most of the commission members, only have our best interests at heart.

We can trust them.

You know. "Some of my best friends live on the ... blah, blah, blah, blah."

Look, it's nothing personal. Nothing against the 19 people who applied for the job or the nine who made the council's final cut.

I just happen to believe the people who have been living with the problems -- day in and day out, and, in some cases, from generation to generation -- are best positioned to get things done.

But you have to get involved. Today.

By this time, the needs of the city's most desperate neighborhoods have been well-documented and should be readily apparent to anyone who bothers to take a look.

Enough talk, already.

It's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

If all it took was talking about the many ills plaguing south- and west-side neighborhoods, there wouldn't be any problems. They would be showplaces today.

They're not.

So, where do we find all those west-side and south-side activists?

On the outside looking in, especially when it comes to shaping the city's future. And they only need to look into their own mirrors when pointing the finger of blame.

They're no-shows.

Like I said, maybe they're all working on some secret strategy -- building campaign committees and drafting their platforms of change.

Let's hope so.

I'd hate to think west-side and south-side residents REALLY don't give a damn.

That they're content to drift along, watching their children and grandchildren trying to dodge all the speeding cars and pickups.

That they're willing to live, indefinitely, with dimly lit streets, poor or nonexistent storm water drainage systems, failing septic tanks, weed- infested dirt alleys that turn into mud baths during the winter months and dust tunnels in the summer.

No. They wouldn't blow this.

Not when opportunity finally is calling at west-side and south-side doors.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

What do you mean, nobody's home?

C'mon! You're not going to let this slip through your fingers, are you?

Hey!

Where did everybody go?

Mike Mooney's column appears Fridays in Local News. He can be reached at mmooney@modbee.com or 578-2384.