Driving into the office this morning, I listened to Dave Barger of WRTA moderate a candidate forum for the candidates for the position of county commissioner.  Not all the candidates were present but a majority participated and provided articulate answers to the posed questions.  At a time when the county needs strong political leadership, it is gratifying to listen to so many good candidates for office.  Some candidates were suggesting government-driven solutions and some were suggesting more private sector oriented solutions.  What all the candidates made clear is that the county is in a weak financial position but I did not hear any of the candidates propose any innovative solutions to the problem.  I do not pretend to have a solution so am not offering this comment as a criticism but rather suggesting that we cannot look to our elected reps for answers if "We the People" cannot come up with ideas for consideration.  We, the citizens of this country, are the leadership and need to consider these issues facing us (especially at the local level) and step forward with ideas for solving local problems.  In this morning's radio forum, all of the candidates saw value in the Convention Center but did not have a clear understanding of its potential for revenue generation.  Concurrent with that issue, several spoke of the potential for revenue from tourism but were unclear how to achieve gains in this sector of the economy.  I think it is time we examined our local marketing strategies for tourism and see if perhaps adopting new approaches might not be better.  I am going to attempt to come up with some new marketing approaches to suggest to our new commissioners and see where those ideas may take us.  What sectors of the economy interest you and what new solutions do you wish to propose to your local elected officials?  We the People cannot look to others for answers; in a democracy we are the "others" who must provide answers.