where's our seat at this table

Business leaders demand say in water planning ….By Erica Meltzer…Arizona Daily Star…Tucson, Arizona Published: 02.09.2008

Tucson-area business leaders say they want a seat at the table as the city and the county develop a water study that could be the first step toward regional water planning. County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry and City Manager Mike Hein have not yet developed a scope for the study, which would go to Tucson City Council or the Pima County Board of Supervisors for approval. But in a letter sent Thursday to Hein, Huckelberry and city and county elected officials, nine area business leaders said now is the time to include community representatives, and called for the creation of a regional water advisory task force. "We are sure you understand that this scope of work will shape the future process, guide the discussion, and potentially determine the outcome," the letter says. "We are concerned that without the relevant input from others from the beginning, this study cannot meet the needs of our community or lay the groundwork for acceptance of the study by the various interests in our diverse region." The letter's signers include Ron Shoopman, president of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council; Jack Camper, president of the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; Rick Hodges, CEO of the Tucson Association of Realtors; Ed Taczanowsky, president of the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association; and Chuck Freitas, chairman of the Safe and Sensible Water Committee, a group that worked to overturn a ban on the direct delivery of CAP water in the 1990s. They join area water providers, who already have objected to a process they say excludes them. Officials said the scope of work will be adopted at public meetings of the City Council and the Board of Supervisors, and forums that are open to the public, including business interests.
Business leaders demand say in water planning ….By Erica Meltzer…Arizona Daily Star…Tucson, Arizona Published: 02.09.2008

What part of government of the people, by the people and for the people doesn’t you politicians and bureaucrats understand…?

Most assuredly business should have a seat at the table in any discussion concerning the development of any water plan.

But, wait a minute where’s the seat for the most important person – John Q. Public – or do you actually intend to exclude him from the seat of prominence he so rightly deserves…?

On the other hand, we’ve become so accustomed to believing the BS you politicians and bureaucrats feed us, we’ll most likely continue to believe you’ll act in our best interests.

It’s high time “we” – that’s you and me – John Q. Public demand and take our rightful place at this table and make sure our collective voice and our interests are heard while holding every politician and bureaucrat accountable and responsible.

Or “we” can continue to act as the “ostrich’s” into which we have evolved.