In Washington, our elected leaders seem to operate in a perpetual crisis mode, even if some crises are more real than others.
All across the country, though, we can see a real perpetual crisis in local government. With our gaze affixed firmly on D.C., we give short shrift to the dangerous ways in which the governments closest to us and which — despite our growing federal bloat — affect us most directly are falling short.
The trends are troubling.
For example, since 2010, eight U.S. cities, towns and counties have declared bankruptcy, along with a host of other municipal filings for utilities, hospitals and the like. Most of the eight local filings, from California to Rhode Island, have been for millions of dollars. Jefferson County, Ala., topped the list with a filing of $4 billion — until Thursday, when Detroit blew them all away with its $18.5 billion filing.
Closer to home, bankruptcy isn’t the problem. Rather, we’re plagued by sheer incompetence and alleged corruption.
In recent years we’ve seen cheating in the Atlanta Public Schools that led to 35 educators facing criminal charges, a loss of accreditation for Clayton County’s schools, and the suspension of half the DeKalb County school board’s members.
We’ve seen a man under indictment win election as Clayton’s sheriff, while the man just re-elected DeKalb’s CEO was removed from office after being charged with 14 felony counts of corruption. A former DeKalb schools superintendent awaits trial on racketeering charges.
Not to be outdone, in Gwinnett County the commission chairman resigned to avoid indictment, another commissioner pleaded guilty to bribery charges, and a third commissioner is fighting still more bribery charges.
This list isn’t even exhaustive. So how did we get here?
A complete answer would take more space than a single, skinny column of newsprint affords. But it would have to begin with voter apathy, even among those who show up at the polls.
By now it’s widely accepted that the races at the top of the ballot — usually federal offices and the most prominent state positions — garner the largest number of votes, with voters gradually losing interest as they work their way down to dog catcher. But as sad as that is, it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Consider these facts from last year’s primary election in DeKalb, when recently indicted and removed CEO Burrell Ellis was re-elected.
Less than one-third of the county's registered voters showed up. (Turnout cleared 73 percent in November's presidential election.) But more than one-third of those voters who did cast ballots didn't even bother to vote for one of the three CEO candidates.
That means Ellis won the primary — and, with no GOP challenger in November, the office itself — without a run-off. This, even though he was chosen by just 38 percent of those who cast a primary ballot at all, and less than one in eight of the DeKalb residents who were registered to vote. Strangely, thousands more people chose to vote in each of the 19 uncontested judicial races than in the three-way race for the county’s highest office.
Forget the bumper stickers that read, “Don’t blame me, I voted for [the loser]” after an election. We could use bumper stickers that simply say, “Don’t blame me, I voted.”
Make no mistake, we are getting the government we deserve. To deserve better, we’ll have to do better.
