By Richard Lee

The president’s response to Thursday’s fatal aircraft accident triggered a memory of a meeting when I was a member of new municipal administration in New Jersey.

The meeting wasn’t about an aircraft accident, the FAA, DEI or any of the other topics the president included in his remarks at a press conference about the tragedy.

At our meeting, one of our new finance people arrived with the news that he had just discovered that the former administration had deposited large sums of municipal funds in bank accounts that did not pay interest. Nothing was illegal; it was just an incredibly unwise practice. The interest from hundreds of thousands of dollars would have generated a significant amount of revenue for municipal coffers – especially since this was 1992, and a basic savings account generated about 6% in interest.

The immediate reaction from those of us in the room was to call a press conference and blast the prior administration, but the mayor stopped us short.

“We’ve been here for six weeks,” he said. “It’s our problem. We’re responsible for not catching the problem and correcting it.”

Much has changed in government and politics since that meeting. And Donald Trump has been in office for two weeks, not six.

Still, I feel the mayor was correct. When you take an oath of office, everything in your jurisdiction – whether a town, a nation or any entity in between – becomes your responsibility. It is not a time to find scapegoats and assign blame; it is time to take responsibility. Doing so is not an easy road, but it is the high road.

Richard Lee, executive director of the Jandoli Institute, covered politics and government as a reporter and later served as Deputy Director of Communication for two New Jersey governors.

Categories: Jandoli Institute, Politics, Richard Lee, richleeonline