Opinion: Are you choosing a leader or a follower?
As primary season ends and Labor Day ushers us into the home stretch of the 2023 elections, it’s time to get serious about the candidates. Here’s the biggest thing I’m looking for when I fill out my ballot: Am I choosing a leader or a follower?
We must guard against the pitfall of groupthink, which isn’t conducive to good public policy. There’s a difference between getting along and agreement. The battle of ideas being tested against each other leads to better outcomes. As Thomas Jefferson said, “Difference of opinion leads to enquiry, and enquiry to truth.”
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Tension between a city council and a mayor is healthy. We need each of our elected officials to serve their own roles offering the point/counterpoint of the branches. Critical individual thinking is what transforms a bureaucracy into a dynamic city serving the current needs of residents. Leadership is about going outside of the box — and sometimes the group — to find real solutions. Salt Lake is not thriving as it should.
Let’s make our vote for candidates forging their own path not rubber-stamping. Fellow Salt Lakers, take time to walk the city, walk Liberty Park, walk the side streets, and then ask yourself: Is this the Salt Lake City I want, and who will do something to change it?
David R. Ibarra
Salt Lake City
