Do you hear it?

Do you hear the blasting air-horn sounding the departure of the political circus train leaving the city of Green Park?

The Clown City clowns are packing up their three-ring circus act and leaving town — run out of town on a rail, as the saying goes.

Judging by the results of the April 3 election, it appears that the fine citizens of Green Park have had enough of the politicians who have perpetuated the Clown City moniker and have put three citizens in office who have pledged to make Green Park a “first-class” fourth-class city. The mayor and two aldermen will be replaced with the forthcoming changing of the city’s political guard.

While the mayor’s race was extremely close — decided by a mere four votes — both the Ward One and Ward Two incumbent aldermen were sent packing by significant margins of defeat. Green Park citizens have spoken — enough of the clownish political antics.

If political scientists are looking for an example of grass-roots politics in action, they need look no further than Green Park’s April 3 election trifecta. Stirred to action by an oh-too-convoluted and costly trash/recycling debacle and a proposed multi-million-dollar road-replacement project that sparked a bevy of questions the mayor seemed unable to answer, a hurriedly cobbled aggregation of agitated Green Park citizens set forth, intent on ousting the mayor and his “Yes, Boss” aldermanic minions.

And they succeeded.

They say the proof is in the pudding; the pudding in this case being the results of the April 3 election.

The grass-roots effort worked because of the tenacious efforts of the candidates, those who worked with and beside the candidates, stellar reporting in the Call and the hundreds of Green Park voters who made the effort to go to their polling place and cast a single vote in favor of a government more responsive to their community’s needs. Bless them all.

Michael K. Broughton

Green Park