I picked a heck of a time to run for office, as we wage “uncivil wars” on our streets and on the Internet and struggle with a difficult pandemic that threatens our health and economic well being. We are experiencing a profound change in our public discussions, for better and for worse, and desperately need thoughtful discussion about systemic racism and the overt racism of some of our citizens.
The good news is that events have led to a seismic shift on how people view our police, how we discuss racism, and our views on economic inequities. The bad news is that in today’s “culture wars,” we continue to struggle with race and class but also with deliberate and provocative media manipulation. As a candidate for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage board of commissioners, I do not need to directly grapple with these national issues, but I do need to understand them. Indeed, racism and environmental destruction come from the same cause: an economic system driven in part by the desires of the very rich.
This year, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage Board of Commissioners has three contested, partisan races. Other than the practical advantage of having partisan support and resources to run for office, one may ask what trees and open spaces have to do with a partisan political agenda. What we need, of course, is good government, requiring good governance by a qualified board that focuses on the needs of the district and how to best restore and preserve our open spaces. We want everyone who visits our preserves to feel safe and welcomed, regardless of who they are, and we want a professional forest preserve police force that helps us achieve that goal. In the spirit of continuous improvement, I would urge the Board of Commissioners to review on a regular basis where we stand with training, policies and procedures to make sure that all staff, including senior rangers and ranger police officers, follow the highest standards in serving all visitors at the forest preserves.
We still struggle with our concept of individual freedom. As stated by Ryan Cooper in The Week:
People need food, water, clothing, and shelter to live their lives. For this they must have a job or some other source of income—obtained in an economic system that cannot help but be based on the foundation of government laws and rules imposed on the people. There cannot be any “freedom from” a state decision about how to set up the economy, and therefore how to distribute resources.
Applying Cooper’s words locally, we have an opportunity to have a forest preserve board that better represents our increasingly diverse county by electing three Democrats to office. Our job, then, becomes finding ways to effectively govern together with Republicans and to set a model for other governmental bodies to follow.
As we run our forest preserves effectively with public resources, we create places where all of our citizens, regardless of their station and life, have the freedom to seek solace and enjoyment during trying times. To me the forest preserves are sacred places, in a sense like ballparks, where people of all walks of life can enjoy in comfort and safety. And to top it off, they are free, which makes them accessible to low-income families. They belong to no one but, rather, to all of us. They are part of our natural heritage. It is my belief that our forest preserves can provide incredible value, something appreciated by our residents regardless of political affiliation. That is true freedom, best provided by a local governmental body.
Jeff Gahris
Jeff Gahris is a candidate for forest preserve district 4 and is also active in the community as an environmental and clean energy advocate. He is a retired environmental engineer with over 30 years experience at the U.S. EPA and for the state of Ohio; a Glen Ellyn Environmental Commissioner for 12 years; and an active volunteer with the Sierra Cub and other groups.