For a few moments this week, in Natchez and Adams County, it was almost like Donald Trump was running the show.

No, not Donald Trump the presidential hopeful, but the TV personality who famously fired people on national television on the hit show “The Apprentice.”

In completely separate moves, the City of Natchez has ousted its director of tourism and simultaneously wiped clean the entire board of the Natchez Convention Promotion Commission.

Just down Homochitto Street, the Natchez-Adams School Board terminated the contract of the school superintendent. Subsequently the assistant superintendent turned in her resignation.

The personnel changes leave voids in significant leadership positions in our community. We hope and pray that all sides — all stakeholders in the school district, which should be all of us, and tourism stakeholders — can set aside what has gotten both groups to the point of such significant transition and simply focus on the future by asking two questions, respectively:

What kind of a leader will best drive our schools to the next level?

What kind of leader can bring together tourism stakeholders and effectively market our city to the world?

Nothing else should matter.

Not the prospective leaders’ place of birth.

Not their gender.

Not the color of their skin.

We simply need good, effective leaders who are passionate about their roles in our community and who possess the communication skills and leadership qualities to avoid all of the mistakes their predecessors made.

Let’s focus on where we as a community are going by clicking our high beam headlights on and looking down the road, not in the rear view mirror.