John Nichols: An assault on local democracy (WI)

[hue]

http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/john_nichols/john-nichols-an-assault-on-local-democracy/article_1ca8375f-e432-5ffa-916b-83bd80bc0aa1.html

Democracy is most real — and often most consequential — at the local level of government in Wisconsin.

It is there that citizens choose from among their neighbors to serve on town boards, village boards, city councils and county boards.

The elections are nonpartisan, and often non-ideological. Local officials serve with little or no pay, and they do so as true representatives of their neighborhoods, their regions, their communities.

And when those communities are concerned — especially about destructive projects and developments — local elected officials reflect and act upon those concerns. They don't bow to big-money campaign donors. They don't defer to out-of-town, or out-of-state, lobbyists. They do what is right for the people and the place they serve.

This really is what democracy looks like.

Unfortunately, democracy is under assault.

Read more:

[postulater]

1. My 87 year old mother had to pay $10K

last year to dig a deeper well at her house cuz the potato farms in the adjacent 2 counties used over 60% more water than the prior years.

Corporate agriculture has their way with small towns and rural folk.

[SharonAnn]

2. Unfortunately, in our county the commissioners protect their large land and property

holdings from higher taxes as their primary objective. They send their kids to private schools, so they are unconcerned with how underfunded our schools are. This is just one example.

They're on the Commission in order to enrich themselves. Plus, they control the Zoning Board and that's a lucrative side-line for them.