Letter To The Editor: Why Rodney For County Council?

By ALLISON SCOTT MAJURE
Los Alamos

The most fascinating political question I’ve ever asked a fellow voter is this, “Do you vote for the party or the candidate?”

At parades, festivals, candidate townhalls, concerts, intimate dinners, kids’ sporting events, and all the other gatherings that we used to take for granted, I would ask this question. 

Invariably, it would open up a political discussion, usually prefaced with my fellow voter’s independent decision-making capacity. “Why yes! I vote for the candidate based on their positions and character, etc. I don’t blindly vote for every single one of my party’s candidates. I think about it.” I couldn’t agree more.

I’ve thought about County Council candidate Rodney Roberson a good deal since he announced his candidacy. “Wow! You’ve only lived here a short time and your running for office?” I asked him. He said, “I’ve moved around, and am looking forward to getting settled here in Los Alamos. I feel now is the time.” 

Rodney is already a public servant of sorts with 20 years in the Marine Corps. He now serves as a senior emergency manager for the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office at contractor S & K Technologies, where I’ve worked with him for the last year and a half. Forty hours a week, day-in and day-out, Rodney shows up, stays positive, finds solutions–or brokers them if they can’t be immediately found, and has a light touch for bringing people together and for nudging people along. Traits like these are essential for the heavy lift that is the County Council. 

The County Council is a hodgepodge of seven caring citizens, with random experience levels for mastering civic issues and the technology and constraints that go with them, who make leadership decisions affecting us all. It is not an easy assignment. There’s the long and unpredictable discussions that occur in the public venue, considerable background reading, and most significantly, the necessity of listening to constituents constantly–whether at council meetings, via email, or in random personal encounters. 

After reporting on every single County Council meeting for a year, as political reporter for the now expired Los Alamos Monitor, I came to a greater respect of the chops and the heart it takes to do this job. Character always comes first. Everything else is teachable. Rodney has the heart of a servant; a consistent, diligent approach to actually doing the homework; and the proven ability to truly listen to and respond to constituents. 

I don’t know if you vote the party or the character, or a little of both. I’m voting for Rodney because I’ve seen him get the job done, and expect the same when he holds local office. Please join me this election season in casting your vote for Rodney Roberson for County Council.

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