The Danger of Tying Local Elections To National Issues

The national and Presidential elections in 2016 caused reactions from cheers to tears and new commitments to resistance, organizing and political action. Many people were outraged. They were dismayed, depressed and shocked. Demonstrations took place across the country and people marched through the streets. I was among them.

But there were also calls for very practical and real responses. People were encouraged to run for office, any and every office. Women were encouraged. Millennials were encouraged. People of diverse cultures, races and economic status were encouraged. The calls went out and people responded. Trainings popped up with good information from experienced campaigners. All of this was good and meaningful from a political organizing perspective. More people were getting involved in the political process and treasuries of political opposition were being filled. In general, people felt good about these efforts and still do.

But as with everything else in life, things get complicated fairly quickly. I believe that after the initial melancholy and then exuberance, it was easy for people to get waylaid or lost. I've seen examples of it in local elections and campaigns. Many seem to have forgotten that old political maxim "all politics is local" as office holders are challenged and office hopefuls look to change "things".

What I've seen on just about every level are simple slogans and messages that go something like - "Vote for Change", "Turn (county, town, state) Blue", "Vote Democrat". In addition, I've seen local candidates tweeting and posting things on Facebook about national issues including immigration, tax reform, national health care, impeachment and foreign policy. Obviously these are all important issues and everyone has a right and sometimes a duty to talk about them, but.....and here's the but. These issues have little to do with what will probably win local elections for school boards, town boards or county legislatures.

Outrage and anger have to get us more then outrage and more anger. Part of why people, voters and non-voters alike, are frustrated and disgusted with politics, is because politicians have so little to offer in terms of real solutions and real work. How will we create jobs? How will we provide more and better public transit? How will poor people and people in need of basic services be treated and supported in our schools and communities? How will we protect and provide basic services like water or sewer service to communities? How will we work together, across party lines, building coalitions to get real work done? To me, these are the issues and the things people need to be talking about in elections. No matter how angry people may be about national election results, it is a huge mistake to think that people will vote for parties vs  candidates who have real solutions and a commitment to work for constituents to bring about change.

I applaud people who make the commitment to run for office, but I for one, want to hear about local issues and local solutions.