The best persons to lead a government may not be the ones running for office. The candidates who may be the most effective leaders may never even make the attempt.
One of my uncles once asked who in their right mind would want to run for higher office. My checklist in determining whether candidates are viable contenders includes whether they have the desire, fortitude, money to market his or her message, a committed team to help navigate the intricacies of campaigning, a policy platform attractive to the electorate, endurance to withstand campaigning, a thick skin to throw off criticism and a future team of people who are willing to share their expertise for the sake of those they will be serving.
Above all, candidates should be selfless and willing to represent all the people whether they voted for them or not. That means they must be able to negotiate political landmines to protect all citizens once in office.
Politicians or government officials must get past party allegiance in decision-making. Otherwise, citizens may suffer because the needs of some constituents may be overlooked in order to keep a particular party in control. Granted, since the founding of this nation, many U.S. presidents on both sides of the aisle have welcomed Cabinet members who were not members of their party.
However, we have seen what happens when you have a leader from one party try to negotiate policy when legislators do not share the same party. Gridlock.
However, in recent weeks, efforts to make a change in the political landscape in this country have been explored.
Attorney John Morgan, of Morgan and Morgan fame, held a contest to name a new independent party to compete against Democrats and Republicans. The winner was The Common Ground Party.
Just days ago, former U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, III, and his daughter, presented a somewhat different approach in bringing different voices into American politics rather than starting a new political party. The senator left Washington as a Democrat in 2024 and joined the ranks of independents that same year. He is now leading a call to support independents to run for office through an Independent Leadership Council. When he retired from the U.S. Senate two years ago, he was disappointed by the difficulty in building consensus on issues in Congress with some legislators focusing more on voting along party lines.
The midterm election in November will determine who will or will not return as part of the 120th United States Congress as well as contests focusing on the state and local level. It may not be initially apparent if elected candidates will be the best. However, voters can now do their part to weed through the political maze hoping for the best and looking to the next election if the winner turns out to be the worst. In the meantime, there could be currently unknown leaders who could be groomed in the future to move local jurisdictions, states and this country to the next level.
Pia Marie Winters Jordan is a retired multimedia journalist who worked in radio and television news and taught the subject at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the author of Memories of a Tuskegee Airmen Nurse and Her Military Sisters.