Citizen Pop-Pop

VIEWPOINT

By RALPH HARDIN

Evening Times Editor O K, so I try to stay politically neutral here in the paper. I have friends and family all across the political spectrum, so while I might have my own personal preferences, and am glad to share them when asked, I have almost always refrained from making any official endorsements here in the Times.

Until now… Yes, you can vote for whomever you please in any of these races. Like Trump? Whatever. Harris fan? That’s fine. Maybe you want nothing to do with either of them. There are a variety of third-party candidates on the ballot. There are some ballot measures to be decided as well, and depending on where you live, you may be asked to decide on a tax increase proposal.

Further down, there are a whole host of candidates who would like your vote, from Congress down to the municipal races. You can make your pick there, and I won’t try to sway your mind on any of them – except one. Yes, I am officially throwing all of my political sway (such as it is) behind one candidate here in 2024.

My Dad. You would probably know him better as Gene Hardin, or if you’ve lived around here for a while you might know him as “Coach” Hardin, since he probably coached a few thousand kids over the years in a variety of sports.

Not content to simply sit around growing tomatoes and raising chickens, he has decided to throw his hat in the local political ring and is running for Marion City Council. Specifically, he is running for Jasper Ward 1, Position 1 on the Marion City Council, but due to the City of Marion’s weird and wacky election guidelines, if you live in the Marion city limits you can vote in every city council election (I don’t know why it’s like that – actually, I do know why, but that’s another topic for another column).

This is not his first foray into local politics. About 15 years ago or so, he ran for city council and lost by just a handful of votes, so I guess he thought he’d give it another shot. His brother, my uncle, is also running for office, seeking a seat on the Crittenden County Quorum Court, so maybe they’re planning a takeover. Maybe I’ll have a cushy spot in the new regime?

Anyway, for real, he’s running and he’s got some ideas about how he’d like to work on improving things in Marion if he wins. I’ve told him he’s going to have a tough race to get on the council. Not only is there an incumbent in the seat seeking re-election, Kelsey Hensley, but there’s also another challenger in the race, a fellow named Austin Cates. I’ve met Hensley but I don’t know her very well. I don’t know Cates at all. I’m sure they’ve got their supporters and I don’t have anything bad to say about them, but obviously I’m going to be a little bit biased here.

As for Dad, or Pop-Pop, as my kids call him, he’s pretty great. I mentioned the coaching thing. He coached me, my sisters, my cousins, and countless kids in youth baseball, softball, basketball and football, as well as junior high and high school sports in Earle Public Schools for 25 years.

He and my Mom have been married for 51 years. He’s a retired school teacher. He’s a Vietnam veteran. In fact, one of the specific things he would like to do is have a special event, a day of recognition for the more than 2,000 military veterans living in Marion. There are, he tells me, currently no veterans serving on the Marion City Council.

I asked him recently what else he was concerned about, concerned enough to go through with the arduous task of launching a political campaign, and he said he wanted to fix the roads, fix the streetlights, update the water system, improve the parks and support the local police. I think those are all legitimate (and achievable) goals. I’m especially stoked about the street lights, since I need to see where I’m going when I’m out doing my Pokemon Go walks…

He then assured me that he would work hard to make it happen. He said he was already in communication with other members of the city council sharing ideas. And he said that since he was retired, he could devote full time to working on city council matters. And I can confirm through anecdotal experience that when he goes in on something, he give it his complete attention.

Of course, making sweeping changes take time no matter how hard you work at it, but when I asked him how he planned on getting things done, he, like an experienced politician, already had a catchphrase ready.

“One change at a time,” he said. “One change at a time.”