Failure - Questions for Council Candidates

Editor's Note - Welcome to second installment of Questions for Council Candidates. Over the last two weeks, Hyattsville Patch sent a 15 part questionnaire to candidates running in this year's Hyattsville City Council election. The questions,developed with the help of Hyattsville Patch readers, probe the candidates thoughts on city policy, development, and also asked the candidates to do a little self reflection. 

Between now and May 6, Hyattsville Patch will be publishing their responses to each question to help you, the reader, make a more informed decision at the polls on May 7. Here now are the responses to the second question. Responses are organized alphabetically by ward. 

Question - Describe a situation in which you failed in some manner. What did you learn from this?

Ward 1 Candidates:

William Jenne - Editor's Note - Jenne's response to this question was added after this post was published. Jenne, citing work and family obligations, did not submit his responses to the candidate questionnaire until May 2, well after the publication deadline, and well after the first seven candidate responses had been published.

I don’t believe that there are true personal failures as long as you give it your best shot and try as hard as you can. Many times in life circumstances are out of our control and we will make sincere, well-intentioned decisions based on incomplete information (not for lack of trying to get the information however!)  and things don’t turn out as planned- but I believe that is a learning experience and not a “failure”. I’m ok with things not turning out perfectly that as long as I’ve done my best and done my due diligence.

Bart Lawrence - During my first year of involvement with the Hyattsville Elementary School PTA, our April 2010 meeting included a presentation and discussion of the Talented and Gifted Program at HES. The presentation and discussion made a number of assumptions about HES’s program. While the presentation was useful, a number of the assumptions were ill informed and touched a nerve with some attendees. I was guilty of making assumptions of my own. The meeting wasn’t the most pleasant or productive. I learned to be more aware of assumptions, learn who you can learn from, ask as many questions as you can, and rely on the professionals (in this case the school staff).

Ward 2 Candidates:

Robert Croslin - Years ago, when I was president of my fraternity chapter, I presented a plan to our members. The plan was to buy an abandoned school and renovate it into office space. We would lease space to doctors and lawyers at rock bottom rates.  In return they would offer services to the impoverished community at low rates and even pro bono when necessary. It failed because of political infighting and my inflexibility to accept any changes to the plan. I learned that flexibility to the ideas of others is a major key to getting things done.

David Hiles (Incumbent) - During the last two years of the second Gardiner administration, we tried to improve City communication with those who may not use the Internet or have City Council meetings scheduled in their DVRs.  We proposed the purchase of electronic signs like the one at Northwestern High School. The signs would have been located at the entrance to Magruder Park and somewhere in West Hyattsville.  We could use the signs to get the word out about all kinds of City events and opportunities.  We didn’t get agreement on that proposal. Still a good idea! Lesson: I needed to work more effectively with colleagues to understand and address their concerns.

Ward 3 Candidate: 

Patrick Paschall - I learned a lot about myself and how to effectively motivate myself for excellence while I was in law school.  I spent the first half of law school focusing on getting the grades necessary for scholarships, as financial hardship was a serious concern of mine. My stress associated with meeting an arbitrarily established performance metric ended up working against me – each semester I fell short of the necessary grades to get the scholarships I needed.  

About half-way through law school I gave up on scholarships and decided to just focus on learning what I felt like I actually needed to succeed in my chosen career field.  I committed to attending class and being regularly engaged because I felt value in the process of learning the law, but refused to allow myself to study for more than just a few hours for each exam. I participated in class and studied because it was interesting to me, not because I felt it was necessary for securing external validation.

I made all A’s that semester, and continued to get excellent grades throughout the rest of my time in law school.  When I was studying my materials for the wrong reasons – just to get scholarships, rather than because of genuine interest in the material – I wasn’t able to perform my best.  I learned that I bring my most excellent performance when I am doing it for the right reasons. 

I am running for City Council for the right reasons – I care about the city I call home and I want to be part of the solution, making Hyattsville even better than it already is by bringing new leadership and enthusiastic engagement to City Council.   I enjoy the legislative process and working with others to bring effective solutions to complicated issues.  As a Council Member, I will be fully committed to excellence, not because I am seeking external validation, but because I am truly interested in City Council and want to be a strong advocate for the residents of Hyattsville.

Ward 4 Candidates:

Ross Gateretse - I was a banker for many years, and that means I was a salesman. I had times when it was difficult to sell that investment account, within the set deadline. I took it as a challenge, not as paralyzing event, a lesson to be learned from. I developed a different way to approach investment sales, through training and effective guidance, and found success.

Edouard Haba - There certainly have been instances where I failed in some way. Retrospectively thinking about those situations, my failure came from either me trying to rush things or not taking the time to listen to different opinions. My take away from this situations? Always keep an open mind, listen to and take into account others' ideas and positions.

Ward 5 Candidates - 

Pastor Herrera - Editor's Note - Herrera did not submit responses to this questionnaire before the publication deadline.

Joseph Solomon - I failed to yield the right of way on my first driving road test and made a left turn into fast moving traffic- scaring the life out of my instructor.  While the turned seemed straight forward to me, I learned always make sure your passengers are just as comfortable with your driving and decision making.  I will take this lesson to the council with, always ensuring that my residents are just as comfortable with my votes and leadership as I am confident.

Clayton Williams - I think I’m a pretty smart guy. I received a JD and LLM in taxation from Georgetown Law and like to tackle new challenges. Therefore, when we moved to Hyattsville, I thought I would be able to fix pretty much anything in our house. Well, there are plenty of people who can tell you how that worked out. I needed (and still need) a lot more help than expected. I learned that “smart” alone can get you into trouble. It is important to listen to those who have experience. It is important to learn the facts and mold your actions to fit reality, not the other way around. It is important to realize that the collective wisdom of a group can come up with better solutions than any individual can alone. With the combined assets of our residents, our representatives, and our staff, we can handle anything. I want to govern smart, but only while I govern well.