.. Senior Nicho/as Horion speaks to the crowd Aug. 27 at the Searcy Tea Party. This "tea par– ty" was invented to raise awareness of the A&P tax. Noah Darnell Horton smiles for the camera Aug . 17 to sup– port his campaign run– ning for city council. The election for this position is in Nov. 2010. Noah Dar– nell E R-,LJNN\NG F'OIt LHANGE dmund Burke once said, "T he only thing nece~sary for the triumph of evil is fo r good men to do nothing. " First year graduate student, Nicholas H o rton, never planned on running for city council, but a plea from fellow citizens of Searcy convinced him to speak up for their libert ies and freedoms . H orton has lived in Searcy since age two, and said he was willing to run for city council alderman . "Anyone who has run for office would t ell you it is not an easy decision to make," Horton said. "T here were scores of people from around the city asking me to run. People are ready for someone to stand up and lead." According to Horton and other members of the College of Re– publicans , city officials had been anything but open. Over the last several years, he said many freedoms and libert ies had been revoked from cit izens. "People are ready for accountability and transparency," Horton continued. "Somewhere between city officials and citizens there is a huge disconnect . We need to get back to square one." Among other grievances, some others alleged that city officials had revoked the right of citizens to speak at city council meetings and charge a Significant fee for citizens to obtain a copy of the city budget. Officials also placed restrictions on yard sales in Searcy, prohibi ting the selling of certain items and limiting the number of yard sales a citizen can host. "The city council is showing it is ineffective in its policies," fresh– man Chuck Catania said . "They are limiting freedoms and showing a significant lack of accountability." With the elections in November of 2010, Horton said he simply planned to meet and talk with citizens to let them know of his desire to run. He has attended tea parties and city events, walked parades and 226 organizations simply talked with concerned citizens . "The response 1 have received is overwhelming," Horton said. "Citizens want to see a fresh face and new perspectives . 1 have a duty to step up." Being elected to city council would not be the first time H orto n accepted a position of leadership . Horton previously served two years as vice chairman then chairman of the College Republicans at H ar– ding. According to members, Horton is a natural leader and "re– vamped" the organization tremendously. "Before Nick. became involved, barely anyone showed up to Col– lege Republican meetings," senio r Ryan Walters said . "When he began leading, there were over 100 people at some events and the meeting room was packed . Nick inspired me to create a positive change in the community, and he will be devoted to making the city of Searcy as great as it can be ." Because of the campaign , H orton had to res ign from his position as chairman . However , he did n o t fo rget the tremendous effect the College Republicans organization had on him . "Being chairman of the o rganization taught me how to organize people," Horton said . "I learned how to take a group of people and move them to success . We Simply worked together . \Vh.at they as a group wanted to do was more impo rtant than what I as an individual wanted. Twas proud to be part of building that coalition . " H owever , at the end of the day, Horton emphaSized that this cam– paign was not about him. ' 'I'm not doing this for myself," Horton said. "J don't want to be a career politician, but for now 1 feel like this is what 1 can do for my community. People are desperate for leaders who will listen to them, and 1 can be that leader." Janet Orgain
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==