Instead of talking about myself -- we've all done this multiple times in recent days & I fear we're beginning to sound alike -- I want to use my time to talk specifically about this word "leadership" we've been throwing around a lot.  How does a voter differentiate among these good men & women who've stepped up to bat?

How do you decide?

There are 4 components each of us has to explore to help us arrive at a legitimate meaningful decision:

Component A:  Gut check, also called the "chemistry factor": does the candidate "feel" like the right kind of person? is he pretty?  is he affiliated with people & parties I like?

Little data is used & opinions are based on feelings, prejudices, likes & dislikes ... and not on more substitive issues such as facts & voting records & past performance.

Component B:  let's call it basic management skills -- how smart, how well educated, how good have been past decisions (because we know the best predictor of future performance is past performance).
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Component C:  the leadership skills, which differentiate between mediocrity & excellence:

• how much fire in the belly?
• what are his fundamental guiding principles?
• does he have a vision or capacity for visioning a future?
• does he show universal respect?
• can he put himself in others' shoes -- different races, different social-economic groups?
• can he & will he think outside the box, be creative?

Component D:  where does he stand on the issues?  Is he willing to act -- to put his money where his mouth is?

• has he dealt adequately with the explosion in our taxes?
• is he committed to smart growth?
• does he actively protect our environment?
• how much does he do to protect our quality of life?
• what has he done to deal with the impending breakdown of our traffic infrastructure?
• does he believe in social equity?
• does he take seriously the needs of elderly, fixed-income citizens?
• does he believe in the legal & moral responsibility to facilitate workforce housing?

Only if your gut-check candidate measures up in all the other 3 categories -- B, C, D -- will the results make a difference.  I urge you to visit our websites & rigorously evaluate each of us -- using some such tool -- to arrive at an informed decision.  The future is too important to elect any of us without scrutiny.

Carson Tucker
3845 Old River Trail
Powhatan, Virginia  23139

804.598.2213