Marc Guthrie takes the high road

Being truly honest and conscientious is not the easiest route to take when you hold an elected office. Ask Marc Guthrie, Newark City Council president, who chose yesterday to do the right thing instead of the easy thing.

When he broke from the crowd of good old boys who manage City Hall and talked to Newark citizens about the additional cost that would go with Mayor Diebold's plan to reorganize city jobs - and certain on-going costly practices - he put himself squarely in the middle of traffic. It would have been so much easier for him to go with the flow, sink back into the shadows of anonymity and let taxpayers remain uninformed, as is the tradition in governments at all levels.

Marc's statements on these matters were reported in the Advocate under the headline: Council president wary of Newark City Hall reorganization's costs and in Marc's Advocate column entitled City needs to do more to be a wise steward of taxpayers' money.

Is he correct in what he says about the wasteful biggerin' of government by the mayor (at a time when it can be least afforded) and about the excessive use of city cars by employees, and about use of public funds for a non-mandatory and far-away conference? Is his idea for merging divisions of traffic and streets something the city should seriously study as a way to provide more efficient use of money?

Marc is in the position to know about these things. When he speaks, those with less experience than he has - which would be pretty much everyone else in the City of Newark, including City Hall - should listen.

The mayor need not get defensive about mistakes that have been pointed out; we all make mistakes. He should be open about the problems Marc has mentioned and fix them.

Marc is doing what he is paid to do: looking out for the people he serves, rather than the people he serves with. By taking the high road - the more difficult road - maybe he can inspire others in City Hall to follow his lead, but don't count on it.

Marc is demonstrating what good government is all about and he deserves a high-five from taxpayers-voters.