Web editorial -- feedback encouraged

We're trying something a little different at the Campus Communicator. So far, editorials have been the exclusive domain of our monthly print edition, but news moves too fast, and some commentary has only a small window of time before it reaches its relevance expiration date.

So, here is our first ever online editorial. If this experiment proves succesful, we may begin posting additional editorials on our Web site, freecraven.com, at regular intervals. Please feel free to post a comment and let us know what you think.

A commissioner's conscience
Harper demonstrates willingness to observe constituents’ wishes

A Campus Communicator editorial

When his constituents let him know that they weren’t thrilled with Craven County commissioners skipping off to Hawaii on the public’s dime, District Seven Commissioner Bill Harper changed his travel plans.

The outspoken taxpayers’ advocate returned his Honolulu plane ticket to the Craven County Manager’s office June 16, after being inundated with complaints from county residents who felt the subsidized trip to Hawaii to attend the National Association of Counties’ annual conference was frivolous in light of a 5-cent tax increase.

While we disagree with those who impugned commissioners’ motives — the annual NAC conference is a legitimate training exercise for local governments, and its exotic location should not hinder Craven County’s representation — we applaud Harper for his receptivity to the citizens he represents.

Few politicians demonstrate such willingness to act on public feedback. Charged with the responsibility of representing the citizens of their cities, counties and states, most elected officials push their own ideological and political agendas.

While Harper probably had no qualms with packing his bags for a necessary and worthwhile conference that Craven County commissioners customarily attended, citizens’ discomfort with what they ostensibly viewed as an extravagance trumped his desire to attend.The citizens who scolded and harangued commissioners for attending the conference were out of touch and out of line. But by taking their message — however misguided — to heart, Harper embodied the spirit of public servanthood upon which American government is founded.