And There’s That Vision Thing

There has been much discussion recently among some council candidates concerning their vision for our new city and how to achieve this vision.  They have exchanged their thoughts on who should lead the city to a new reality. Furthermore, they have described their own personal experiences and skills that would be useful as council members. This has made me think more critically of my own vision and if I have articulated it clearly to the voters.  Does my vision reflect the hopes and desires of the citizens of Peachtree Corners?  More importantly, does my vision advance the cause of freedom or cause it to retreat.

What is a vision?  Webster uses words like imagination, foresight and mental image in its definition of one who visualizes the future.  Effective leaders are guided by detailed vivid mental pictures of what they want to change from a current reality to a future reality.  It does not matter if the vision is not based on truth, and is not for the good of others, it is the leader’s perception of truth. History is replete with individuals who have been so strongly committed to their personal vision and have been so effective in the conversion of others, that human freedoms have either advanced or regressed.

I am committed to a future Peachtree Corners where its citizens’ personal and political liberties flourish and their economic lives prosper. The stage has already been set by the adoption of a limited government charter that establishes only three functions:  trash removal, planning and zoning, and code enforcement. The areas of most concern for our liberties are zoning and ordinance codes. It is my aim to improve our property values and quality of life without encroachment on existing residential property rights.

I believe the greatest threat to our freedoms is a city government that spends taxpayer dollars without regard for the source of those dollars, the hard working citizens of Peachtree Corners. I do not believe it is the city’s money; it is the taxpayers’ money.  When revenue exceeds operating expenses and emergency reserves there is no surplus, there is over taxation.  Excess taxes should be returned to those who paid them. Any government fat with revenue is a threat to the happiness and freedom of the people.

Finally, I believe no vision can preserve and expand the liberties of a people without men and women steeped in virtue and moral conscience.  It is revealed in the selection of virtuous leaders and officials with a deep devotion to discernment of right and wrong. James Madison, our nation’s fourth president and known as the “Father of the Constitution”, spoke eloquently to the importance of virtue in our leaders. “The aim of every political constitution, is or ought to be first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue the common good of society;  and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst to continue to hold their public trust”.

My name is David Proud and I would be grateful for your consideration as your Post 3 City Council Representative of Peachtree Corners. Please my website www.davidproud.com to learn more on who I am, what I believe and what the principles in my life are that motivate me.