When in a political position, one is most generally tasked with difficult decisions that require a long, hard look at what really matters. There are two ways a person of this position can view a problem in order to make an informed decision. The trustee view model of representation allows the political position holder to have a broader view of what is important to society as a whole, while voting against narrow interests of constituents.
This view also takes into consideration the politician’s personal views, morals, and perceptions.This way of representation could cause problems with constituents that elected the legislator to support their big political views, but the legislator feels that they have the best opinion and interests of the people in mind despite negative consequences. The instructed-delegate view model of representation focuses on the views of the overall voters who had elected him or her according to views of constituents regardless of personal beliefs.This legislator would be more of someone that looks at what congress sees and does not give much thought of how it would affect local communities or the state. This view has the constituent’s interests in mind.
As a state senator holding the determining vote whether to shut down US naval base in my state I would work hard to keep the base open for a couple reasons. The base in question provides more than 1 billion dollars in goods and services to the state and employs approximately twenty thousand people.Next, the amount of money that is generated in taxes is then being returned back into the state and the local government. As Senator, I would take on the trustee view model of representation when dealing with this delicate decision making process.
My conscience would force me to do what I felt was best for the community and the state because I would feel the pain of the economic loss and the end of the small businesses that would be affected by this shutdown.Not only would the base employees lose his or her jobs, businesses in the area would lose revenue and feel the effects of the job losses. I feel like the Instructed-Delegate view model of representation would pave the road for such a dramatic change in the state in terms of the economy. The role of the legislator would be to prepare the state for the loss and explain to people that supporting this change is for the better for the nation because it fits into the President’s National Security Budget for a safer and stronger America.In respect to the day I am called upon to cast a vote on the President’s program, I will be strongly against the base closure for the reasons stated above.
If I am doing my job as the state senator, my views will be transparent, meaning I would have already expressed that in Washington that I have the state’s best interest in mind. While I may understand the President’s platform and his reasons for wanting to shut the base down, I made a promise to my state to do what is best for them and the future of our economy. If the base closure eliminates jobs, how is that doing what is best for my state?I am sure that I would take major criticism from members in my political party for going against the grain and not supporting the President’s plan. However, they have to understand the platform of my justifications regardless if they do not agree with my politic views. In this situation, using the trustee view model of representation could portray me as a non-team player and could destroy my re-election chances. However, being put in a position of making the difference and changing the base closure outcome would be worth not being re-elected.
