EDITORIAL: Bellmead needs to appoint a new mayor — and then elect its mayors in the future
We’re not prepared to cry racism because of the repeated failure of the Bellmead City Council in making council member Kevin Wilson mayor, but every day this matter goes unresolved is another day that charge threatens to indict Bellmead. We wouldn’t wish that for our neighboring city. Once the racism label is affixed, it’s very hard to remove, however unjustified.
Our take: Council members who oppose Wilson’s selection are not motivated by race but by strong concern over a controversial beautification ordinance passed two years ago.
Sadly, their failure to again show good judgment this week, end gridlock and take care of administrative matters — like the customary selection of a mayor based on council tenure — now threatens to mar Bellmead’s reputation. If that happens, the issue of whether to beautify Bellmead may be the least of everyone’s worries.
We’ll put aside the merits and drawbacks of the ordinance for the time. Wilson, who is black, is obviously qualified, and custom dictates the council make him mayor. That done, council members can get down to the people’s business, including exploring compromise over the ordinance.
Beyond that, we believe Bellmead resident Larry Brown, president of the McLennan County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is right to propose a petition to alter city charter so Bellmead’s mayor in the future is elected by the voters, not picked by council members from amongst themselves.
Back in 1987, Waco voters went from a similar setup to a system where our mayor is elected by the entire city. The change invests the post with a civic legitimacy that didn’t quite exist before. No one has proposed going back to the old system.
This won’t solve the current quagmire enveloping the Bellmead council. Hopefully, one of the three whites on the council who opposed Wilson will consider the interests of all, bow to town custom and break this logjam so that Bellmead can get past any whiff of racism and move on to important city business.
MORE IN EDITORIALS »
Magazine
New issue!
- Check out June's issue
- Summer swimwear, great teachers, El Conquistador & more
- Link: View the magazine as a virtual flipbook
In My Opinion
Most Read
Buy, sell & more
Waco marketplace
- Boocoo auctions: Sell your stuff!
- WacoTribCars.com
- Jobs: Waco listings
- Real estate: Waco listings
- Buy & sell merchandise
- Classified ads for Waco
