I think those of us who identify as members of a "creative class" or knowledge workers, tend to approach many things as problems to be solved. Creating a solution, coming up with new ideas, making things better...it is exciting and compelling to us. Sometimes our enthusiasm comes across as arrogance as we presume to solve problems that many others have already worked long and hard on, and we, as newcomers, think we can jump in and provide the answer nobody else could.

I've talked with several of our candidates for town Selectman and I find my approach is very different from what I see in "real" candidates who are running for election. I want to hear solutions--like I would expect from candidates for Congress or President. I want to hear how the candidate is is going to solve a problem. But instead, I mostly hear candidates who want to listen. And that's not a bad thing.

The podcast from Escape from Cubicle Nation this week featured an interview with Philippa Kennealy who talked about realistic startup income expectations but also about what she had learned in her business ventures--to understand the market first, then meet the needs of the people in it. It's not revolutionary advice, but so basic it needs to be reinforced again and again. To sell a product, you need to understand the need of the customer and solve for that...not come up with a great idea and then try to find customers...or convince people they need it... It occurred to me that in politics we often face the same challenge.

Candidates try to sell their ideas and become frustrated when people don't listen. I can see myself making that mistake if I were to run for office. I have all these great ideas, just give me a chance to implement them! I don't think that's a winning strategy. If you look at our local situation here in Westwood, you find a lot of dispute over the large development project Westwood Station. Residents in one third of the town feel like they will bear the brunt of the problems while the rest of the town reaps the potential tax revenue.

My impulse is to look for solutions. Can we mitigate the traffic problems? Can we make the process of planning more transparent? Can we develop a shared vision of what our future should be? I don't think the project should be scaled back as some believe...but then my vision of the future is just a speculative idea based on reading lots of urban planning books...what do I know?

What I do know is that for many in the town, the problem is not the project, but the fact that they do not feel listened to. So I think the election is not about electing a candidate who will do something about the development; it is more about electing someone who will listen and represent. Throughout local government, you run into this...local elected officials are not typically visionary leaders with grand plans to build the future. They are neighbors people trust. Or they are people with strong community-based organizations. Because when we vote, we are usually electing people to represent us, not solve problems. By the time they take office, the problems may have changed--or at least the priorities of the community may have changed and the solution of 6 months ago may not be such a great idea anymore.

I don't know if I really buy that. We have some fairly standard problems in our society that have gone without solution for decades. We have elected people like us who shared our pain, but didn't really accomplish anything except make us feel we were not alone. I think for myself, I will always choose the candidate who plans to do a lot more than listen...even if I don't agree with everything he or she stands for. Can I "trust" this particular candidate? Well, if not, we'll vote him out. How much damage could one person do (Ignore that for Presidential candidates!)? Better to rock the boat and make change than just sit there listening to people complain.