Happy New Year!
That sentiment has been said often over the past couple of
days, but too often lasts just as long as a New Year’s Resolution.
As 2019 begins, the “fresh slate” has already been sullied
by the ongoing partial federal government shutdown that has all the earmarks of
a lengthy labor strike in which both sides are digging their heels in and that
there are no signs of any compromise solution that would allow both sides to “save
face.” In the meantime, human interest stories of those affected by the
shutdown conveys the appearance that those effects are widespread, when in
reality the shutdown hasn’t really affected a great majority of Americans. If
Social Security payments, veterans’ benefits or other tangible financial
aspects of the federal government were affected by the shutdown, you can bet that
the hue and cry for getting a deal done yesterday would be loud and long
nationwide.
Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how long the “honeymoon”
lasts in Lansing between the new Democratic leadership in the Executive Branch
and the continuing Republican control of the Legislature. Gretchen Whitmer said
the right things following her gubernatorial inauguration yesterday, but it
remains to be seen if those “bridges” that she alluded to can span the
political chasm that exists in the Capitol, or will this state return to the adversarial
days of the Jennifer Granholm administration? It also remains to be seen if
Dana Nessel will become a Democratic version of her two Republican predecessors
Bill Schuette and Mike Cox in how she administers the Attorney General’s
office.
Finally, what lies in store for Holland city politics in
2019? It looks as if Nancy DeBoer will have another rigorous election campaign
ahead of her, as she had to battle to get the Mayor’s seat from Bob VandeVusse
four years ago, and to keep the spot from Jay Peters in 2017. There is already
a challenge coming this fall from local attorney Nathan Bocks, who has been a
high-profile community leader through his work on the Tulip Time Festival and
with the Holland Civic Center Place. DeBoer may have reluctantly announced her
intention to run for reelection earlier than she had planned when pressed by
our Peg McNichol on the matter shortly after Bocks’ unveiled his candidacy.
Instead of Happy New Year … how about Eventful New Year?
Thanks!
