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Local Politics
Feb. 23rd, 2008 09:00 amLast night I went to a neighborhood gathering attended by four of the Tempe City Council candidates and the current mayor (he's running against a 17-year-old, so I suspect he'll be re-elected and he has my vote). It was an interesting gathering. I was easily the youngest person there, and got to talk to a number of my neighbors whom I hadn't known beforehand (it's pretty awesome that my neighbors actually get together for these sorts of things and tonight will encourage me to keep participating in such stuff...though there were some troubling old-boys-club moments, especially between the property owner of Casey Moore's and one of the candidates). Talking to the Council candidates was also pretty interesting, as I came away with pretty distinct impressions of the three I spoke with. I like getting involved in the local politics and getting to meet the candidates.
Tempe is a pretty darn progressive city, and it was good to hear that at least two of the candidates are enthusiastic and sympathetic towards issues that are important to me (supporting local businesses, alternative transportation). In contrast and in retrospect, I found one of the candidate's positions quite disturbing--she wanted to undo a tax on secondary property because it's created a surplus (of about the same order of magnitude as the deficit for City services) and she thinks it's led to wasteful governmental practices. As I walked home, I realized that I'm actually highly in favor of such taxes because they're a tax on the wealthy (if you're wealthy enough to own secondary property, shouldn't some of that benefit go towards government support?). I also have a hard time believing that returning that money to taxpayers will stimulate the local economy (let's consider similar such measures on a national level and the skepticism with which they have been met).
It was also quite interesting to hear about my neighbors' perspectives on how to integrate newcomers into the local political processes. I'm an outsider still, even as a neighbor for 3.5 years, but in short order there are going to be many more people living in downtown Tempe in all of the high-rise condominiums. Most of the long-term residents could care less about whether their new neighbors get politically involved, and this seems to me like it's a dangerous strategy. I don't know to what extent the new, young urbanites will want to be politically involved, but it seems to me like they're the group that needs to be targeted if we really want to encourage the use of alternative transportation and support local businesses. The developers certainly haven't done much to encourage such things, so I think those issues need to be addressed by political processes.
I'm probably quite wrong in many aspects of my assessment of the situation. But on the other hand, at least I was there and will get to make a slightly more informed decision when I go to the ballot box. And at least I now know that my city council members are approachable. I'll continue to use that knowledge to its fullest.
Tempe is a pretty darn progressive city, and it was good to hear that at least two of the candidates are enthusiastic and sympathetic towards issues that are important to me (supporting local businesses, alternative transportation). In contrast and in retrospect, I found one of the candidate's positions quite disturbing--she wanted to undo a tax on secondary property because it's created a surplus (of about the same order of magnitude as the deficit for City services) and she thinks it's led to wasteful governmental practices. As I walked home, I realized that I'm actually highly in favor of such taxes because they're a tax on the wealthy (if you're wealthy enough to own secondary property, shouldn't some of that benefit go towards government support?). I also have a hard time believing that returning that money to taxpayers will stimulate the local economy (let's consider similar such measures on a national level and the skepticism with which they have been met).
It was also quite interesting to hear about my neighbors' perspectives on how to integrate newcomers into the local political processes. I'm an outsider still, even as a neighbor for 3.5 years, but in short order there are going to be many more people living in downtown Tempe in all of the high-rise condominiums. Most of the long-term residents could care less about whether their new neighbors get politically involved, and this seems to me like it's a dangerous strategy. I don't know to what extent the new, young urbanites will want to be politically involved, but it seems to me like they're the group that needs to be targeted if we really want to encourage the use of alternative transportation and support local businesses. The developers certainly haven't done much to encourage such things, so I think those issues need to be addressed by political processes.
I'm probably quite wrong in many aspects of my assessment of the situation. But on the other hand, at least I was there and will get to make a slightly more informed decision when I go to the ballot box. And at least I now know that my city council members are approachable. I'll continue to use that knowledge to its fullest.
