It takes courage to serve in municipal public office. No one denies that.
And sometimes locally elected officials are faced with terrible choices that they must decide by their conscience, moral boundaries and personal character.
In the wake of the terrible (latest, sadly) school shooting in Florida, one County Commissioner is facing those hard, harsh realities.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller this week will ask his colleagues on Council to vote to ban assault-style weapons in the county, which is in the Tampa Bay area.
The whole gun issue is one that separates Canadians and Americans, and indeed many Americans. There is little middle ground.
What makes Commissioner Miller's action so remarkable is that he is doing so knowing that state law dictates that he could be removed from office and fined up to $5,000.
In 2011 the Florida legislature, never known as a bastion of sober second (or even first) thought, passed a law that prohibits local leaders in cities or counties from passing their own local gun legislation.
Now, similar to what happens in Canada, local legislation can't supersede state (provincial) or federal legislation. But, Commissioner Miller believes it would send an important message and perhaps start a new conversation in the wake of the horrific Parkland school shooting.
This is where the back-story gets interesting. Miller is a former state legislator, who in 1997 spent 18 days and nights in a hospital in the state capital as his son lay there between life and death after being shot at a college graduation party.
Happily his son recovered. But the scars left were deep and painful.
The proposal by Commissioner Miller is likely doomed, if it even hits the floor of the council chamber. It would put his fellow elected officials in a terrible quandary.
What it is helping to do, however, is make other mayors and local councillors consider proposing a constitutional amendment before voters. That would override the Florida legislature's action and allow cities to take back some authority in this very controversial area.
In the meantime, state and federal legislators appear to be retreating to their usual corners on the questions of tightening gun laws in the US. The NRA sits back with its deep pockets and enormous influence on elected officials. It is, for a stranger in a strange land, a remarkable situation.
Even after mass shootings that happen with shocking regularity, and at a time when school kids are demanding safety and improving gun laws, federal and state legislators chew their cud and spew platitudes.
The efforts of one, lonely, locally-elected official probably won't make much of a difference in the end. But Commissioner Miller deserves credit and surely applause for having the courage and conviction to stand up before the state-mandated penalties of expulsion from his publicly elected office and fines and say, NO. This is wrong. We need to do better for our kids.
Local council members can make a difference. That's why so many good people run, and why we need to encourage people of character and ability to seek municipal office across Canada.
