Democracy is the theory that the common people know what
they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.
H. L. Mencken
Oh the world of local politics. It would be even more
comical if it didn’t have the serious side behind it. And I’ll be darned if it
isn’t happening over and over again right before our very eyes.
You talk about political grid lock? Just look at how some of
those “my group your group” decisions have panned out over the years. Perhaps
the biggest fiasco in local politics took place many years ago in Petersburg
when their City Council opted out of helping their largest employer at the
time, Brown and Williamson. B&W was
looking for some tax help, the city said no way, and Brown and Williamson moved
to North Carolina.
Who won that decision?
Bad decisions are almost always the result of “group think”
instead of working to the benefit of whatever municipality we happen to
represent. Politicians are elected; and they
believe they are elected because of the policies and planks that they ran on.
In reality that has nothing to do with it at all. In local politics who’s in
and who’s out almost always is the result of popularity. Not too much different
in reality to who gets named Home Coming Queen and King.
It’s by popular vote. How many people can I get to vote for
me, support me, and put a little muscle behind my election campaign? Hold aside
your personal feelings and that is exactly what democracy is all about. In
truth, it’s the absolute worst form of government, next to all the rest.
What’s a constituent to do? Vote, for sure, because if you
don’t vote you might as well just give up. You have no say in who is doing
what. You deserve whatever you get. And for those who vote and lose, at least
you were in the game. In some ways it’s a lot like the lottery. You can’t win
if you don’t play.
But there are other things. Just because “I am more popular
than you” does not mean that I will be a better judge of determining the course
of the good ship over the next however long my term or terms last. In and out,
up and down, in the end it’s all about groups and whether I have the swing
vote.
In Colonial Heights, it’s very easy to see the gyrations
between the two factions. What you don’t think there are two factions? My my,
we have been napping haven’t we?
To me, City Council’s job is to set policy. According to
ehow.com their purpose is:
A city government's mission is to use financial and human
resources to provide services and ensure civil order for residents.
So how does that pan out in our City and how can you tell
which way the pendulum swings? Really,
that isn’t hard to figure out at all. If you know what the real issues are in
Colonial Heights you already know how council breaks in dealing with certain
matters that come before it. It’s all defined by the votes they make.
You want to know how Council is going to determine the
course of events in the city? Just look at who they “elect” as mayor. Whoever
gets that position is the person leading whichever faction has the swing vote.
There is really only one way to change that. It has to do
with the election. Pay attention to who is sitting on City Council and if you
are dissatisfied with what comes out of that office you can make a change. If they happen to be following a course you
prefer, then keep on truckin’. But if you do not like the things that City
Council is doing or promoting, then you have a moral imperative to make a
change. You can make a change by
electing other candidates whose ideas and ideology more closely fit with your
beliefs, or at least not with those of the faction you do not care for.
Choose not to vote and you get what you deserve, plain and
simple, and exactly as H.L. Mencken suggests.
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