From: Carolyn Seltzer
Columbus
For 12 years, from 1985 to 1997, I was involved with Leadership Bartholomew County (LBC) as a participant, board member and as its director. The goal of LBC at that time was to train existing and emerging leaders for more effective community service through awareness of the issues facing Bartholomew County and through skills training. These skills included collaboration, visioning, conflict resolution, networking and valuing diversity, to name a few.
Jim Lienhoop was chosen to go through this meaningful program and spent nine months absorbing these lessons. It was obvious to me then that he would be a great asset to our county and that service to others was innate in his character. Through the years, he has given his time in many ways, and I am thrilled that he has now chosen to run for mayor of Columbus. He has proved my intuition correct.
Our current mayor is lacking in these leadership skills, and because of that, Columbus has suffered significantly. The process of public servants, both volunteer and salaried, doing their work with the city to make Columbus an excellent place to live and work has broken down. She has tried to assume control of every board, committee and organization, and in the process caused us to lose experienced employees through termination or their desire to no longer work in such a controlling environment. It has been exasperating to watch this happen.
“Collaboration for the common good” has long been a key to this community’s success, and we can waste no more time in getting back to that mode of operation. It will take much time and effort to correct the errors of the last few years. I urge you, Democrats and Republicans alike, to vote for Jim Lienhoop in the May primary, as he epitomizes what we need for successful city leadership in the future.
