By Dick Miller
WE.CONNECT.DOTS: There is a huge disconnect between those of us who think we know what kind of government we need (or deserve) and that which we have been dealt.
Never is the reason so obvious than during signature gathering time for those seeking local political office in Pennsylvania in February and March every odd-numbered year.
For better or worse, during even-numbered years, we study the candidates before we vote. How do candidates align on party registration, conservative or liberal, second amendment importance or how do they feel about abortion? Many of us even send them a contribution.
Municipal election years are odd numbered, like 2015. This year, in this state, we will elect thousands of council members, mayors, township supervisors, school board members, county administrators, tax collectors and judges at all levels. We will not know a thing about where they stand or what they might do, nor do we give a hoot.
If we cared, lengthy detailed newspaper articles about each candidate would appear before the primary election in May. Print media went brain-dead on local politics a generation ago. Local print ads became less important in an electronic era. Readers didn’t give a damn.
Former speaker of the House of Representatives Tip O’Neill preached, “All politics is local.” The phrase encapsulates the principle that a politician’s success is directly tied to the person’s ability to understand and influence the issues of their constituents. The objectives are simple, mundane and everyday concerns.
That was two generations ago.
We have very little say on who our political leaders will be in Harrisburg or Washington. At last general election we overwhelmingly voted in a Democrat for Governor, then tied his hands with solid Republican-control of both houses of the General Assembly.
Why did we deliberately vote for “gridlock?”
Equally disingenuous is our approach to local government.
Polls show we strongly believe that local government and administration of school districts is very inefficient. Might have something to do with the fact all Pennsylvanians live in one of 2,500 municipal government districts or one of 503 school districts.
Local taxes get higher with less to show in public education or municipal services.
Yet few of us know which seats are up for grabs on the local boards for education, township supervisors, city council in 2015.
Last week Mark Ferrara, superintendent of Greenville Area School District, proposed a public meeting on school consolidation. He sent the proposal to his four counterparts in neighboring districts in northern Mercer County.
Ferrara suggested such a meeting would feature Central Valley Superintendent Nick Perry who oversees the merger of Monaca School District into Central in 2008 in Beaver County.
This stunt was wrong from the get-go. First, the proposal should have come from the elected Greenville School Board members. Rejections by all four superintendents sent an incomplete message. Their responses are not directly based on insuring continuation of their own jobs. Truth is, there are not sufficient members of any of the four neighboring boards that have the courage to support such a public discussion.
Local elected officials serve either free or get no more than $100 per month. Too many people who can contribute hide behind the demands of their jobs or families. They promise to consider public service when they retire, which is why most of these boards are populated with retirees or members with axes to grind.
You can change all this, but you won’t.
Bottom Line: We say we hope our children will live a better life than we did. For as much as education and government can contribute to that end, we offer little resistance to poor outcomes.
