Sometimes, you have to take a step back to see how effective a leader can be. Topeka has been blessed the last couple of years with the hiring of two exceptional leaders for public safety: Police Chief Ron Miller and Fire Chief Howard Giles.

Both have brought a fresh perspective on the operation of these two important departments.

Perspective they had because they could take a step back from past battles inside the departments, keep what works well from that past and change what doesn’t.

Some in Topeka have attacked them both, sometimes from inside their own departments, primarily because neither was born here, neither was raised here, neither worked their entire career here.

That kind of thinking limits the cost-effectiveness of our taxes, limits the quality of response to our homes, and limits our advancement as a community. Topeka needs the best ideas.

And those ideas should not be rejected just because someone can’t claim native status. When I take a step back, I give a “vote of confidence” to these exceptional and effective leaders.

WIBW welcomes differing points of view. Go to the Kansas Voices section of wibw.com or send your reply to jim.ogle@wibw.com.