A great deal has been written about the proposed charter for
Frederick County. I’ve read most of it
from the daily and weekly papers. Jan
Gardner observed, “I think
it's always better when government is closest to the people,". As an active Green Party member, I
agree. I’m committed to grassroots democracy and working
for decision making to be as close to the people as possible.
But this charter doesn’t do that. Government under charter is just another
version of the same top-down, control by an “elected” elite system that we
already have. Charter does nothing to
bring decision making closer to the people.
Take a look at the people and organizations supporting the
move to charter government and you’ll see where the benefits lie. Establishment career politicians, both
Democratic and Republican support it. The
Chamber of Commerce, developers and their cronies support it. Why is a land and commercial real estate
salesman, Rocky Mackintosh on the charter writing board? What special expertise has he in governmental
affairs? One just has to go back to his
real estate newsletter and to The Tentacle articles of his of 2 years ago. There he tells us that Frederick is living in
the “horse and buggy era” and should be in the “BMW 5 Series” world of the
modern America.
So, even then, charter was seen as a way to give more
authority and power to the “Beemer” set as opposed to those ancient “horse and
buggy” types (perhaps referring to the life-long residents of this county,
traditionally farmers). As Rocky and his
friends worked diligently to transform the county from its rural roots into the
faceless and soulless gentrified suburban wasteland it has become, he worked as
well to ensure government continued to evolve in a way to protect and support
that transformation.
The calls for a “more streamlined and effective” county
government are widespread and seemingly popular. Under charter, we’re told, county legislators
will be able to “move quickly” to enact laws and have “broad power” and
authority. Are those truly good things
in what is supposed to be a democracy?
Look at what Ken Coffey and Robert Kresslein, both members
of the charter writing board and supporters of the move to charter government
had to say. They observe that the
current commissioner form of government is what they refer to as “collective
leadership”. Although they acknowledge that
this form of governance has some merit, as in the fact that it honors “our
commitment to democratic process”, apparently that’s not important enough to
preserve. That commitment lets us down,
they conclude, in making government less efficient and effective. I have a very different view of our
commitment to “democratic process”. That
commitment must outweigh all other considerations, especially ones as insignificant
and dangerous as “efficiency”, “streamlined government”, and the like. There is an apparent fixation on the part of
charter supporters on idea that our current process is too slow, too
cumbersome, too much in danger of not allowing “quick” decisions. Obviously, if you’re a developer or big
businessman, or other one-percenter, having local government move quickly to
approve your development, or other big business venture is quite important. For
me, not so much; I’m quite content to take part in a democratic process, even
if it is time consuming that includes all voices, considers all concerns, and
comes to a decision that addresses all needs.
And yes, such a process exists within a democratic framework. It’s called consensus.
Critics of charter claim government will cost more, that it
will make the cost of running a campaign for office much more expensive and
that will invite outside, big money to influence campaigns. As one critic pointed out, it’s cheaper to
bride one official (the county executive, for example) than to have to
influence 3 of the current 5 county commissioners. All this is no doubt true. Commissioner David Grey observed that the low
salary for councilmen ($22,500), and the part-time nature of their service
would skew the balance of power, giving too much of it to the county executive. But I would agree with charter supporters
that there is nothing inherent in charter government that makes it any more
corruptible or less democratic than the commissioner form. It is not as Blaine Young suggested that it “strictly
depends on who you elect”. On the
contrary, it becomes a question of who runs for the various offices and who
controls the election process.
Dividing the county into “districts” does not increase
citizen participation and will not give all geographic areas of the county
equal representation. All we need to do
to see that is to look at the state of Maryland, divided into counties and
election districts. A common complaint
from Frederick County legislators is that the bigger, wealthier counties get a
better hearing in Annapolis and more state funding. The same will be true here in Frederick County
with charter government. Will residents
of Rocky Ridge have the same clout in Winchester Hall as Urbana? Will more funding go to roads where development
is planned than to needy schools in the more rural parts of the county? I know where I’d place my bet. Currently a community has 5 representatives
they can contact for support and help; under charter, they’ll have one.
This in no way brings government closer to the people.
But local and county government certainly does need to be
changed; not reformed or “updated”, but completely revised.
The charter needs to start at the closest point to the
people; your neighborhood, the street on which you live. Communities working together to bring about
the changes they see as important to them are where democracy begins and
ends.
A good charter needs to specify how elections are conducted:
publicly financed campaigns; all state-recognized political parties included; a
voting system that gives equal access to all candidates. Ideally, our political system should be some
form of Proportional Representation. In the
interim, a system of Ranked Choice (also called IRV, Instant Runoff Voting),
must at a minimum, be implemented.
I understand that conservatives in this county and around
the country do not believe we live in a democracy and strongly resist any move
to bring us closer to one. But these 3
simple changes: public financing of campaigns, inclusion of all political
parties, and IRV will go a long way to bringing the county closer to a
democratic process.
I will be voting NO on the charter question this coming
Tuesday.
Decision making (that is, government) must be at the
individual and local level, not embodied in one person, elected, appointed, or anointed.
People have a voice in decision making when they are not
only included in the discussion, but initiate and lead the discussion. Dividing the county into voting districts will
not increase citizen input nor amplify communities’ voices.
Community is the center of all economic and political power
and social justice. This charter widens
the gulf between the people and the economic and political decisions made. The county executive alone will interact with
the “leaders” of Frederick County and the “leaders” in Annapolis. This is not democracy.
Civilized society can only exist when rights, opportunity,
and resources are equally shared by all.
This charter will serve only to further entrench the grotesque
inequality that enslaves us.
I will vote NO to this and any charter written by the
privileged few for their own benefit and the benefit of Establishment
supporters.
It’s time for the people to write our own charter,
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