Holding public office is not meant to be a money-maker

Talk about tone deaf.
Last week, City Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury proposed to raise the salaries of the council and the mayor.
But then, at Tuesday’s council meeting, he withdrew his proposal, citing the city’s financial situation. Had it been approved, the raises would have cost taxpayers thousands of dollars.
We’re not going to further beat up on Choudhury, because he got quite a scolding on social media.
But he does represent people who run for office who have no idea what they are getting into.
Choudhury said he has been spending a good deal of time dealing with the concerns of community members.
Yes, that is something that happens when taking public office. It comes with the territory.
Holding elected office in Hamtramck is not a full-time job. Most of the work is fairly routine stuff.
It’s the city manager who runs the city. Councilmembers and the mayor have very little direct influence on how the city is managed.
As a councilmember, you are not going to be able to lower someone’s water bill, or get someone a break on property taxes.
As for Choudhury citing the city’s financial situation, this is puzzling. It’s been well known that for the past two years that the city has been in deficit spending and, at its current spending level, the city will be broke in a matter of months.
How was this not known to Choudhury until recently?
The point here, for those thinking about running for office, is: think hard before running for office. And do your homework about what the job entails.
It’s definitely not about making a cozy salary.
Posted Feb. 5, 2021