My old friend and colleague Miguel Morales is running for a seat on the Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees. Miguel is not a career politician. He is not someone looking to boost his resume through an election in these hard times. He cares deeply for the college, its students, its employees, its legacy and its future. I have never met anyone as knowledgeable or as passionate about the college as Miguel.

Quite frankly, I could go on and on about the qualities I see in Miguel and why I believe he would make an excellent trustee. But you can learn more about his inspiring past and qualifications at his site. I want to take the time here to highlight a quality I think we see too rarely nowadays.

Miguel speaks truth to power.

As a journalist, Miguel put his reputation and employment on the line investigating the president of the college. Through his questions and reporting, he has shown a constant willingness to challenge authority, to keep officials truthful and to shine daylight into corners many would prefer to leave darkened. Through his actions, he has shown that he expects openness and accountability in our government and our elected representatives. Had we seen such dedication to openness and accountability in our elected officials nationally, our world might be significantly different today.

Miguel has been a student at the college, an employee at its library and a reporter for the student newspaper. He has daily contact with students, employees, professors and administrators. His history allows him to voice the concerns and expectations of the people who rely most on the college. He speaks truth to power not only with his own voice, but also with the knowledge gained from the wide and vibrant community that makes up JCCC.

Miguel speaks truth to power, but he does so for all of us.

Wouldn’t we all like to see candidates run for office who have shared the same experiences as us, who can legitimately identify with our lives? A candidate whose passion has led them to public service? A candidate who expects the same things from government as we do?

For citizens of Johnson County, we have that candidate in Miguel Morales.

For more information about Miguel:

Visit his site
Join his Facebook Group
Check out his YouTube channel

Ed Note: I feel remiss at not having written this post earlier. The delay has partly been because of how busy I am, but also because I haven’t known how to express my deep level of respect and admiration for Miguel. Best of luck old friend, you know I’m with you in this.

Apparently, lots of people reported that PayPal massively under-delivered January’s money market dividend payment. The correct dividends started to be deposited in the last few days. I had missed this until I saw it mentioned in passing in a CNN story last night. Full disclosure, I do have a PayPal money market account. But, I didn’t keep much money in PayPal during January, so I expected (and received) a very small dividend payment.

Mulitple threads in the eBay forums, one at Slickdeals, and another at the Auctionbytes forum can provide in-depth discussion on the issue.

This ties directly back into yesterday’s post regarding eBay’s glitches. eBay keeps hammering sellers with the message that they must help restore buyer trust in the marketplace. But, eBay and its subsidiaries undermine that message (and general trust in the company) each time a problem develops and they don’t effectively communicate with their members. Money market account holders should have been notified of the problem when it was discovered. Instead, hundreds (or more) had to contact PayPal and pester them until they received an explanation for the incorrect dividend.

To eBay and PayPal: Help build trust. Be forthright with your members.