From Nation's Capital to Nation's Capital: The Azza Street Spy

Election Madness: Seeking a Qualified Mayor for J-m
I've been working with the Nir Barkat for Mayor of J-m campaign for nearly two months. Below is an essay that was published in the October edition of the Shiur Times, an English-language magazine that targets the observant community in Jerusalem and the rest of Israel. It explains how I came to work for him and what I think of our elections on a more general level.

This essay was written in response to a posting on janglo soliciting "political rants." While I was intrigued by the request, since I was leaving the next day for Armenia, I wasn't sure if I could make the deadline, which was less than two days away. The next day I was sitting at Ben Gurion airport composing the essay, edited it while waiting for my connecting flight in Vienna, and typed it and emailed it off from my friends' home in Yerevan, Armenia. A multi-national essay written in snippets of free time.

Some more mini-drama: Shortly after sending off the article, I realized that submitting an election-related essay for publication was a violation of my work contract with the Barkat campaign. I signed that I would not talk to the media. While the essay like a personal story and I am not being a mouthpiece for the campaign, I realized that I might be fired for insubordination. But, alas, this is Israel where everyone is informal. I called my team leader on the campaign (who is also on the list for city council) a few hours before Rosh HaShanah stressed out. I couldn't go through the holiday without a resolution. We had a great conversation and he approved the essay without reading it. My job was safe. I sent him a copy, and he was extremely pleased. Phew. Everyone wins! Now we just need Barkat to win...

http://issuu.com/shiurtimes/docs/issue22-aug2008/17?mode=embed&documentId=080923100828-3c395d3348f847a89449d1e6262bbc15&layout=grey

It was in June that I first became aware that Jerusalem and other Israeli cities would be holding municipal elections this November. I had been invited to a parlor meeting in which Nir Barkat, Jerusalem mayoral hopeful, presented his platform and entertained questions. Caught off guard by the upcoming elections, it took me a week to digest his message. Afterwards, I committed to becoming his supporter and I currently work for his campaign. My initial reaction: How can I choose one candidate without researching the others?

While my political leanings would put me in the camp of the secular, Zionist mayoral candidate (i.e., not ultra-Orthodox), that is not why Barkat has my vote. I support him because I believe he that will be a good mayor, period. To me, Barkat represents the "Doctors Without Borders" candidate. Just as doctors can drastically improve the standard of public health in rural African communities with antiseptic, gauze bandages, and sterile equipment, Barkat's platforms are elegant in their simplicity, coherence, and direct response to the needs of this broken city. He is a native Jerusalemite with experience in business and civil service. He has his finger on the pulse of this city and can articulate a long-term vision as well as concrete, short-term steps to actualize his vision.

My support for Barkat, however, comes with a twinge of disappointment. I wish that his opponents were courting me with competing visions and tempting me to cast my vote with them. Elections are a healthy phase of the democratic process in which candidates propose ideas and residents debate their needs and most suitable solutions. In an ordinary city, the current election would serve as a referendum on the light rail. The city is paralyzed by the endless poorly-planned and poorly-coordinated construction, yet Barkat's opponents have not articulated any type of transportation reform. His opponents have also not publicized to the general voting populous their solutions to the city's job and affordable housing shortages. While Barkat has housing, employment, education, and transportation platforms, his opponents are still engaging in back-room, power-leveraging negotiations. As a city resident, I want a mayor who is committed to the city's growth, not someone who wants the job for purposes of bragging rights or a stepping stone to future political glory.

Barkat would be strengthened if he had a bona fide opponent who is capable of debating his policies. The absence of public discourse on the city's most pressing needs is a disservice to all. Voting on the ethnic, religious, or charisma card is a gesture of loyalty that happens in high schools and tribal-voting countries like Zimbabwe. Running the country's capital city requires competence, vision, and leadership.

We need Barkat to win the mayor's seat, increase the public's involvement during his five years in office, and elevate the level of discourse. By the next election cycle, perhaps we can have a true race and not one candidate with ideas and the others seeking votes based on tribal loyalty.

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