Progressives Control Your Local Government Too
From NewsWith Views
Government is supposed to be representative, at least ours is. Unfortunately, representation is an illusion in these times of ours when banks, developers, even church leadership, control the many local municipalities across the nation. Under the guise of community action and doing what is right for the public, our “representatives” continually increase government, spending and taxes. How amazing it was for Grants Pass, Oregon, to have elected four city council members who ran on the platform of keeping government small and accountable to the people – and they started to do it. They started digging into all aspects of the city’s administration to get to the bottom of what has really been going on for years – the taking from the people and passing it to corporate interests. It didn’t take long for the big machine to realize these councilors weren’t afraid to deliver to the people what they promised, so what can be described as only the “good ol’ boy club” sprang into action and successfully ousted a council that did indeed have its public’s best interest at heart. It was a sad day, indeed, for the Southern Oregon city, and truly telling of what is going on all around our country.
For years, Grants Pass has been like many communities around the country. It had a city council whose members handed the keys of running the city over to paid administrators. These individuals feed the machine that is government. They rely more on “standards” than what the community really needs. They push their agendas and make their recommendations based, largely, on an economic model that heavily favors big business and large development and forgets that typically, the people are the ones who foot the bill. These administrators, when “overseen” by an elected council that simply passes whatever the administrator recommends, have free reign. But, every so often, when good people attend council meetings and see what is going on, the goliath agenda is exposed.
The Grants Pass City Council, under the guidance of a city manager, had been looking into a massive redevelopment project in its downtown area called the River District Plan. The numbers, potential enormous tax hikes, and possibility for eminent domain action made the public furious; so much so, the people successfully forced the council to table the plan. Due in part to years of councils that simply rubber-stamped each and every project without question, including the massive redevelopment effort, a group of fed-up individuals ran in a general election to replace members of the council. Their hope was to bring representation back to the people and away from the special interests. The public overwhelmingly elected Richard Michelon, Rob Pell, Mark Townes and Ward Warren to the council, and it was the first time that representation began to take root. Even a couple of sitting members of the council, council president Bill Kangas and councilor Lisa Berger, were swept-up in doing what is right and accountable for the people.
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