As regularly as Independence

Day, Thanksgiving and Mother's Day, a columnist has to deal with Election

Day. But ­ although fireworks and turkeys may be involved ­

it's not near as much fun.

Election Day brings out the

worst in us, I fear, as we list reasons to vote for or against So-and-so.

Columnists have to get their two cents in early, after all, if they want

to elicit any response from the candidates. (A gentle friend told me recently

that she has not voted in a decade because it seems to her that voting

for or against someone means judging them, and she feels constrained by

Scripture to "Judge not.")

Maybe it's a matter of compromise,

maybe I'm rationalizing, but I believe that our responsibility to community

and country demands hard choices, among them the choice of leadership.

I don't care how committed we like to say we are to small or do-it-yourself

government, the truth is that neither you nor I alone can build a bridge,

staff an army, or change a law.

We do these things collectively,

work collectively with other selected, elected individuals to do the work

of government. And yes, that takes a certain amount of judgment on our

part.

But ­ and excuse me if

I wax fervent ­ I don't see voting as optional. As I've said before

and will say again, blood has been spilled to secure my right to choose

my government, and while there's breath in my body, I will vote.

So, all right, you're a candidate

who wants my vote. Here's what I need to hear before I pledge it to you.

I need to hear that you are

serious about finding solutions ­ already long overdue ­ to

our water and air crises.

We form agencies and we run

study after study that show (drum roll, please) that we're running out

of water and our air is dirty and we do not have adequate transportation

alternatives. But no one seems willing to start the hard work of making

things right.

I need to hear that these problems

matter to you and that you will do whatever the office to which you aspire

empowers you to do.

At the risk of oversimplifying,

here are some solutions to some problems that could at least be set into

motion in a heartbeat.

Water: Get serious about water

conservation. This has been a popular subject this summer, with newspapers

soliciting readers to submit ideas. Many are catching rainwater in barrels

and cisterns, and contriving complex systems to direct it to landscaping

­ commendable suggestions. Go further:

· What possible justification

is there in throwing away shower and laundry water while pouring clean

drinking water on a lawn? For that matter, what justification to have

a lawn? Either provide incentives not to plant acres of grass around our

homes, or provide a means of watering them with wastewater.

· Those few publications

that have been brave enough to suggest using gray water do warn readers

that state and county laws prohibit distribution of untreated wastewater

other than through a septic or sewer system.

So, would-be lawmakers: Change

either the law or the plumbing or both. Gray water can be retained for

irrigation purposes, treated safely and inexpensively if need be, and

if any is left over, can then be discharged into the sewer lines. Some

engineer out there should be able to figure that out. Bring technology

and law to a meeting point until both are satisfied ­ it can be done.

· Many water departments

have a price structure that rewards large users of water by reducing the

cost per thousand gallons over a base rate. This is backward.

Let small users pay the least

per-thousand-gallons ­ and yes, I'm thinking of ourselves and many

other empty nesters whose water usage rarely exceeds the base rate. Then

every thousand or so gallons above that, increase the per-thousand charge,

including water used by commercial customers.

It should be noted that the

Fayette County system provides that a higher rate per thousand may kick

in for residents using 20,000 gallons or more.

Tony Parrott, the department's

director, says the water board has not seen fit to employ that condition

because the odd-even watering plan is working. Since the odd-even plan

has been implemented, water usage in Fayette County has decreased, even

with increases in population.

Air and transportation: They

are inextricably bound together. Our air will stay dirty as long as we

are fossil fuel-dependent.

· Reward carpoolers with

parking privileges ­ the more in the carpool, the choicer their parking

spot.

· Reward with tax breaks

purchasers of alternative-fuel or hybrid cars.

· Set sky-high miles-per-gallon

rates and require automakers to meet them in three years max.

· Require that school

kids walk, ride bikes, or take the bus, with very few specific, documented

exceptions like large science projects that need special handling. (I'm

not unreasonable; I had school-age children once.)

· Scrap the Northern Arc/Outer

Perimeter once and for all.

· And work for public

transportation. Provide dependable and timely public transportation within

Fayette County, from Fayette County to Atlanta and the rest of the state,

and from the Southeast to the rest of North America. I'm talking about

buses, light rail, and high-speed trains.

The candidate who persuades

me he or she will work toward these goals will get my vote. Our county

incumbents won't. They've already stated that "no one in Fayette

County wants bus service."

No one except seniors, the

disabled, people with low incomes, and people who prefer comfort and relaxation

to road rage and long commutes. That's all. No one much.

OK, Ms. or Mr. Candidate. Your

turn. Convince me.