Big Small Town Government

My internet buddy, Tom Knapp, discusses whether local government is better than distant government in his blog today. I agree that local government can be more oppressive at times than the government in Sacramento or D.C., or so it seems.

In fairness, though, most people generally support active local government since it deals directly with where they live. Just look at campaigns for city council in any city. Candidates rarely seem to talk about not doing something, or protecting the right of the people who live in the town to be left alone. They talk about how they support this project or that project and how they want to micromanage the city and solve every little problem. At least that's what I see from what little attention I pay to city council elections. I often don't vote in city council elections unless I find a compelling reason to vote for one of the candidates. Usually, there isn't a compelling reason.

I can understand the micromanagement thing, despite being a libertarian. But I also think that's one reason a libertarian presence is especially necessary in small towns. I met Eureka City Councildude, Chris Kerringan, when he was campaigning last time around. I told him that I often didn't vote in city council elections because city council candidates are generally promoters of more government projects but, hey, I understand that's what many people want for the town they live in.

I went on to tell him I would have liked to see some candidates come out in opposition to the, then current, asset forfeiture ordinance Eureka P.D. Chief Douglas, and others, were proposing. That ordinance would allow the city to seize and sell the cars of anyone involved in soliticiting or procuring prostitution in Eureka. Everyone on the council and running for council seemed to have no problem with such an ordinance except for the fact that the City of Oakland, which the Eureka ordinance was modeled on, has their ordinance in court now. Nobody wanted to get involved with the ordinance until the litigation was taken care of. Kinda shamefull nobody considers whether it was wrong to take someone's car just cause they were out looking for sex, in the first place.

Tom Knapp might well be right that there's a strong tendency among local politicians to pass just about any ordinance. We need more libertarians in local office.