Give Lewis and all candidates ‘a look’

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Robert “Bob” Lewis is not only running for City Council, he is my economics instructor at Central Arizona College. He was my microeconomics instructor in fall 2007 and I am now taking his macroeconomics class.

Why am I writing about him? Because I feel that he isn’t on the public radar. In fact, this is his own doing. In my view, he is a quiet man. But, he seems like a man who truly wants to help the city. So he is running for City Council to fulfill his desire.

We have class discussions regarding politics. Is it to promote his causes? No, I don’t believe so. It is to teach us how much politics and economics are intertwined. We have discussions about global, national, and local economics. We follow our text books. The text book talks about economic history and theory. History means more if we can learn by it and apply it to our lives.

Does he have a crystal ball that knows all and sees all? No. No one does. But, he does have life experience and knowlege that he shares with us students regularly.

Does he have all the answers? No, I don’t believe so. I don’t know anyone who does. There might be people who think they do.

So what else does he have? He knows that there is much to be learned from history. He knows that political factors such as individual agendas play a role.

That isn’t good or bad. That’s just the way it is. We all have our agendas. We all believe we do what is best. It is only natural to have self interest in mind. It is how the self interest is used or perceived to be used that makes a difference.

Personally, I don’t know much about him. I know he owns a home in a community in Maricopa with his family. I know he moved to Maricopa in 2005. I know he attends the City Council meetings. I know all the information that was made available in an article on inmaricopa.com (see City Election 2008 Candidate Profile Series: Robert Lewis) and a Web site that is linked to in the article. That information has come up for discussion. I know I am one of many who have shared where I live and how long I’ve been here. It is something we do to get to know each other.

Do I know what he would be for, or what he would be against? Maybe, maybe not.

Do I agree with him on everything? Of course not.

In fact, I honestly don’t know his position on many issues that affect Maricopa.

The reason support him, I believe, is because of his personality. He has a job to do in the classroom. Sure, he shares his experiences and ideas on many economic topics.

But he also encourages us to share ours. He never says we are right or wrong (except for facts or definitions that are given in the textbook). He encourages us to speak out loud to him and among ourselves. I believe he knows we all have our opinions. But sharing them with each other is one way in which we learn from each other.

This includes Lewis. I’m sure he learns much from all of his students.

I know first hand that the best way to learn a topic is to teach it. It may seem backward. But I learned more from teaching, instructing and coaching others than I ever have doing any skill on my own.

Why? An instructor must be prepared. He must. He doesn’t have to know all of the answers, but he must have a good idea of where the answer are found. In fact, sometimes he learns to answer questions before they are asked. In my experience, an instructor is always asking himself or herself “What will someone ask about this?” The instructor seeks to have an answer and reason for it ahead of time.

Is he the best candidate? I don’t know.

I encourage you to decide that for yourself. Please give everyone a look. Contact them all. Ask questions and share your opinions and views. Get to know all of them.


Leon Potter is a business admistration student at Central Arizona College who lives in The Villages At Rancho El Dorado in Maricopa.

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