Vulcan Values and Being a Mayor

I grew up in a home with a bunch of trekkies, and in turn, I became one too.  I have watched every episode from all of the series and I have taken the time to absorb some of the lessons contained in the Star Trek episodes.  The series proposes a reality where cooperation between species happen, peace is an attainable goal and exploration is preferable to exploitation.  It proposes a positive future for the human race and I like to think that Star Trek in general has made a positive contribution to my life.

You might be familiar with one of the most famous Star Trek characters, Spock, as played by Leonard Nimoy.  Spock is a Vulcan and they are a much different race compared to us.  While we are driven by emotion, Vulcans are driven my logic.  In many respects these Vulcan values would make for good traits to have, being a mayor and politician.  I encourage you to take a minute to look at these values and I’ll show you how they would apply to my role as mayor.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one

When it comes to Vulcans, they make the effort to think of the bigger picture.  Sometimes this works out okay, and in many instances this can result in self-sacrifice.

When it comes to being a mayor, it is important to realize that my needs are not necessarily the needs of the residents in the village.  Since I have children, I have a different wish-list compared to a resident that is retired.  This doesn’t mean that either of our wishes are less important; rather we have to look at things that benefit the both of us.

A good example would be high speed Internet in our village.  If you have ever been here you would know that our Internet is sometimes as slow as dial-up.  Since I make my living online, having faster and more reliable Internet would be ideal for me.  But in our case, when it came to the proposal to have it out here, the costs were just too prohibitive and would require us sacrificing in some other area.  While I certainly wanted it, the proposal was not in the best interests of the residents, so we had to pass.  Honestly, sometimes these decisions can be hard, especially if you want it. But, I just have to remember one thing: I  became mayor to help the community, not myself.

There are no emotions, only Logic

Vulcans preach that logic is the ultimate truth and that emotions need to be suppressed.  That is much different than how humans behave, where in many cases it is our emotions that dictate our actions.

When it comes to emotions, there are a lot of opportunities to encounter them while being on town council.  This can happen both in the council chambers or out in public.  Council meetings are a good example where emotions can run out of control, fights can break out and the situation can get to the point where nothing useful gets accomplished.

If emotions can be kept in check, then meetings can usually go by without a hitch.  I’m not saying that emotional topics are necessarily bad, but they just have to be discussed in a calm manner.

Emotions can also come into play when dealing with residents that you know that may have late bills, are in tax enforcement, or have broken a bylaw and need to be fined.  While it is okay to sympathize with these people, we were elected to do a job and it still needs to be done.  Many people will understand when you tell them something like this:

It is nothing personal, I am just doing my job.

But there will be people that will just be angry with you no matter what.

While emotions shouldn’t be used when making decisions, you can’t be a robot either.  One must remember residents are people and should be treated as such.  So strive to find a balance between the two and you will do alright.

Live Long and Prosper

Vulcans usually say goodbye by simply stating: “Live Long and Prosper.”  This can be very applicable to serving on council in a community.  There are no real guarantees in politics and you might only end up serving for one term, so you need to make sure you “do good” while you are in office.

We need to consider that the community will go on after we leave office and even after we leave the community(whether from moving or passing on).  Making decisions and commitments in regards to spending, need to have a long term frame of mind in place.  While there are crises that need to be addressed, we need to be vigilant and make sure we make decisions that take the future of our community into account – we want it to prosper now and into the future.

While you might think that Star Trek has little to do with your community, I would think that the values found in Vulcans are very applicable to our roles as leaders and stewards in the municipalities we call home.  It is important for us to remember that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few and we need to make decisions to benefit our entire community and not just ourselves.  Our emotions need to be kept in check but we also need to remember that we are serving a community of people – not robots – and treat our residents with compassion and respect.  We need to have forward looking vision to ensure that our community continues to prosper long after we have left office.  While challenging at times, these ideals will ensure that you excel at your role as an elected official and your residents will appreciate your role in making their community a great place to live.