genuinegirly

How interested are you in local politics?

Do you know everything there is to know about who is running for your city council or school board?
How about your mayor - do you know the margin by which they won? Or perhaps they're not elected, do you know how your mayor came to office?
If you live in a small town or suburb, are you more interested in the nearest large city's politics?
Do you find local politics more interesting or influential than national politics?
Is there anything with your local politics that has driven you up the wall in the past year?
Does the current presidential campaign distract you from local politics?

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I thought of starting this thread because McCain's vice presidential candidate Palin has shown us that in a small state like Alaska, local politics start to matter. She started off on the city council of the tiny Wasilla (population 7,025) and worked her way up to governor within a relatively short amount of time. Honestly, it seems fairly shocking to me that she could rise out of nothing like this. There are probably other stories like this that I'm not aware of.


I have started speaking more about local politics with friends and acquaintances, to see how much they know and care. I tend to think that local politics has more impact on my everyday life than national politics. You'd be shocked what big issues you can bring up and change life for the better locally- hot topics that cannot be dealt with nationally due to lack of consensus. There seems to be less red tape on the local scale, and it's easier to come to a consensus.

Recently my city passed an ordinance against smoking in outdoor places where children might be present. This includes restaurant patios, parks, shopping centers, city streets, and so on. This has ban was put in place to essentially limit smoking to personal residences. I am not a smoker, but I think this is an extreme measure. When I have mentioned this smoking ban in conversation with friends and acquaintances who live in my town, they aren't aware of the ban.

In our city, we have a small city council that meets weekly. The mayor position rotates between city council members. The city council is elected. Their meetings are public, and are aired on public television. Community members who attend city council meetings are given 2 minutes to speak on a topic if they sign up in advance. City council meetings stretch on for hours. Most community members do not attend a city council meeting unless they catch wind that there is something to be discussed that directly affects their way of life.

I find city politics interesting, but I do not keep track of the names of everyone involved. Those who are elected tend to prove themselves more harsh than I anticipate, often ignoring issues that community members bring to council meetings. I know nothing of the school board. I'd like to think that if I had kids, and they were attending a local school, I'd follow that as well.

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"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy