The Platform, Week 3: Bringing It Home - Local Politics Posted by Nathan S. on 10/18/12 | Filed under Opinion, Politics, The Platform

(Newark mayor Cory Booker)

Over the next few weeks, Refined Hype and political-economic analysis blog Nitro Citizen will host The Platform, a series in which contributors from RH, Nitro, and the music industry comment on the structure of politics and how we are affected by what's on the ballot.

Starting with the president, and moving into how we might take the conditions created by federal policy to act at the local level, we will look at all levels of government and social activism from the ground-up. So if you feel nauseous about voting, you might be looking too high up on the ballot or you might find other avenues to help create progress through The Platform.

This week, Dharmic X for Refined Hype and BroadNMarket for Nitro Citizen and Todd Walton for the Hip Hop Democrat discuss the difficulties and opportunities in local politics.

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Todd Walton (The Hip Hop Democrat):

Local politics takes on a new meaning when speaking in reference to Illinois or even Chicago for that matter aka The Windy City, which actually received its nickname from the local political scene and how people blew in and out of office. Really the ONLY other thing Illinois probably has in common with any other local government is structure alone, but then again Illinois is all I really know, and that's ENOUGH.

The Problem. The structure of the system is broken down to the normal State, County, Municipal, Federal representatives, etc... Then you have Chicago a beast of it's own, the basis of the hit cable network show BOSS which takes an exaggerated look into the aura around "Chicago Politics". A political system that for decades has been seen as vindictive, filled with strong arm tactics, family ties, corruption, and the occasional bribe. It doesn't take an inside look to prove those accusations true. Lets just look at the our last 2 elected Governors Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan, both currently serving prison sentences.

From my perspective looking at Illinois, the corruption and greed are not the only the interesting things about our local political system. I think it's the extreme difficulty of being involved, being included in "The Boys Club" of the land. The club that defines the strong arm "family politics" that rules Illinois across county, city, and state governments. A weird dynamic where the Democrats act like the Republicans we so often see in the national spotlight, Democrats (not in the "Family") have to be progressive independents and raise ruckus to be seen/heard, Republicans are just there and primarily run southern Illinois, and Independents are pretty much "the Green Party".

Besides all of that, could Illinois politics be that bad? I mean this is the system that facilitated the growth and development of our country's President. A President whose former Senate seat was "allegedly" being sold by the Governor to a Congressman who is currently abandoning his seat and is being investigated for improper use of funds. A President who appointed a good congressional friend as his Chief of Staff, who later quit to become the Mayor of Chicago, and was replaced by the former Mayor of Chicago's brother. That pretty much sums up Illinois local politics.

The opportunity. Chicago. Violence has run rampant, gang activity, record high murder rates, schools overcrowded, and the teachers have pulled the Mayors card. Chicago's commander and chief has always been one of the guiding factors in Illinois politics, and now that Mayor Daley has stepped down, and Rahm clearly is "Under the Act" change is on the horizon. People see the lack of a real commitment to the plight of the people by our Mayor, the blood spilled by children in the streets, and the people are ready for some new blood. This leaves an opportunity for "The Machine" to be opened up, to become a true machine for the people. This can only happen with the understanding of our core problems as an under-served and under-represented community, the development of leadership that accurately represents the people, and the support of each other. That's when the local politics of Illinois will truly work.

BroadNMarket (Nitro Citizen):

When former Speaker of the House and Reagan antagonist Tip O'Neill famously declared that "all politics is local" in 1982, and took his policy message to Illinois to prove the point, it doesn't appear that he saw the 24-hour news cycle coming. Like most things in politics, a less certain "some politics is local" would probably be more accurate. Local elections often allow us to choose the leaders who the parties are likely to set up as future national figures. This year, the DNC tried to shine a spotlight on San Antonio's Castro brothers as future hispanic All-Stars for the party, hoping to set up a trajectory similar to that of Illinois State Senator Barack Obama in 2004. Business leaders offer a notable exception. Romney had not held office prior to being elected governor of Massachusetts and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson was a complete outsider who ran on his business experience to win the governorship in New Mexico. Surprises inevitably happen. And there's great promise in both of these circumstances. If we want leaders in the party structure who will protect their political survival, but will make incremental gains and break from the party norms, we start by voting them in at the local level. On the other hand, if want to push third parties (such as libertarians or the Green Party) we could immensely help them along by strengthening their numbers in local office, allowing the party to gain sustained traction as opposed to reminding us that they exist every fourth year. The Tea Party has been somewhat effective in these efforts and has suggested that they are only beginning their efforts to infiltrate elected office.



In Newark, local politics have been documented in a number of national media outlets, and voters are empowering officals who are working up the national ladders. When Mayor Cory Booker and Councilman Ron Rice first ran for their current jobs in 2002, the race was filmed and ultimately netted an Academy Award. But they were sent home packing. Ten years later, both have now served six years in office and the contours of their political careers are starting to take shape. Booker is seen in only shining lights nationally, but locally he is seen by some as being in the pockets of hedge fund managers and the media with a divisive education approach and a foot out the door at all times. Personally, I think the Booker economic agenda has been relatively effective, his embrace of private education reform has potential, and he stands a great progressive spokesman. Councilman Rice, however, is clawing for higher office and his selling points are a bit of an easier lift. He lost his Congressional primary race over the summer, but is rumored to be considering a bid to replace Booker in two years. He represents Newark's West Ward, one of its toughest areas, and he has worked to create infrastructure for recreational, educational, and economic opportunities in the neighborhoods he represents. But his Congressional campaign showed his commitment to progressive ideas on a larger stage, as he voiced support for the Buffett Rule and more effective Wall Street regulation, and opposition to extending the Bush tax cuts.

Considering the opportunity that local politics afford to determine future leaders, voters can empower officials who will go on to reflect their values in higher office or may even bring those values to the national stage from City Hall. The best local officials prove their worth by championing new approaches to entrenched problems - using their cities or districts as policy labs to help determine best practices worth spreading. Mayor Michael Bloomberg divides public opinion almost on par with Bush, Obama, or Romney, and the approaches he's tolerated on law enforcement issues (Stop-and-Frisk) and government budgeting (cutting funding for runaway and homeless youth programs) make the skeptics' case. But at the same time, he's tapped into his personal piggy bank and used his City's massive sway to change urban planning, reporting on poverty, public health (smoking, calorie counting, and yes, soda), the institution of marriage, and funding for social projects in this country. In Toledo, Mayor Michael Bell has departed from aggressive protectionist talk about sparking a trade war with China - Romney may know better, but his words seem to suggest that many of his supporters don't - and worked with Chinese investors to help expand the city's infrastructure. In many cases, local elections are more likely to be geographically and socioeconomically exclusionary and even nepotistic. But those who break through, and even those who benefit from this structure, have more freedom to experiment. The policy lab idea is most sell-able at the local level, where officials can break from a given national sentiment, so any change that we would like to see probably has its best chance of success if tested at the local level.

Maybe Tip O'Neill's famous phrase would be best stated as "most politics start local." At least his quote was crisp.

Dharmic X (RefinedHype)

In our attempts at balancing a hectic work week, numerous family commitments, and the need to simply relax and destress, there is essentially no time to really dig deep into politics beyond what you see on television news outlets, hear on the car radio, or happen to stumble across on the internet. People tend to gravitate towards what they have some information about, especially when they have limited time at their disposal, and that’s why as a result, local politics gets kicked to the curb as people instead get their fill of the latest “Binders full of women” meme.

Beyond that, and beyond the fact that local politics can never be ubiquitous, local politics is difficult to follow because there often isn’t a lot of information readily available. Sensationalism sells in the media world, and so the only time local politics reaches the consciousness of the everyday person is when something ridiculous transpires. As a result, voters are often left finding out about their options when they reach the polls for the first time.

Conclusion

With all of this in mind, we figured that it would be far more helpful to provide you all with a pretty useful resource for figuring out what elections are taking place at least at a statewide level in your area. Project Vote Smart has a pretty useful database of races that are going on across the country (votesmart.org/elections). It also breaks down the various ballot questions that are taking place in each state, with each ballot questions having tremendous ramifications on defining the social values that this country stands on. For example, citizens in Massachusetts will vote on the legalization of medical marijuana (with marijuana itself already decriminalized in Massachusetts) and on whether doctors are allowed to prescribe their patients medicine that would kill them.

And if all else fails, the government can actually help. State government websites have information on how to register to vote and who is up for election. Everyone should definitely give their respective site a visit at least once before the big election day.

See Also: The Platform, Week 2: Unraveling the Mess That is Congress