Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tip O’Neill, famously said “All politics is local.” And when people we elect show up regularly in the aisles of Sonoma Market, it’s an indication of just how local. In fact, local politics may well be the best – and last – bastion of real democracy.
As the impact of the Supreme Court’s notorious Citizen United decision continues to reverberate, it’s abundantly clear that politicians at all levels are too easily “owned” by wealthy contributors, special interests, PACs and lobbyists. This reality has been spotlighted by the national campaigns of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, each of whom has pointedly scorned big-money donors – billionaire Trump by self-funding his campaign to date, and Sanders by refusing PAC money, raising hundreds of millions from small donors (“average donation – $27!”). Both have excoriated the big-money coziness of “establishment candidates” in both parties.
Unless and until Citizen’s United is reversed by a new Supreme Court majority and major campaign finance reform is put in place, such as public financing and prohibiting secret-donor “bundled” contributions (so-called “dark money”), the decisions of public office holders will continue to reflect the will of the few, not the aspirations of the many. To call this democracy is beyond sad.
Locally, we seem to have escaped many of the worst manifestations of political corruption, though we fear for the future. The North Bay is undergoing a commercial development boom the likes of which we have not seen since the housing development boom of the 1990s. That period saw rampant urban sprawl, until Urban Growth Boundaries and community separators brought things under temporary control.
Today’s commercial boom is fueled by wine tourism. Our Valley is within an hour-and-a-half of six million people, many of them wealthy due to the impacts of Silicon Valley. They are hungry for places to go and things to do, weekend houses to buy and places to invest their money.
As currently conceived, our county and local tourism is actually “hospitality,” meaning that commercial development is focused on building ever more hotels, wineries and event (party) centers. The City of Sonoma could build 1,000 more hotel rooms and still not satisfy the Bay Area demand. Whether Sonoma and Sonoma Valley survive this onslaught as authentic, resident-centered communities will depend on electing politicians committed to crafting commercial policies with that as a clear objective .
Thus our local elections matter more than ever. Community separators and UGB renewals are political matters, as are housing policies, equitable wages, and protecting our neighborhoods and the environment. The character, vision and decisions of people we elect will in large part determine the nature of our Valley’s economic and social fabric well into the future.
It’s easy to become complacent, disgusted and give up on politics, but that comes at a high cost. Complaints and letters-to-the-editor are not substitutes for getting into the trenches and getting politically involved. Locally, we have the chance to meet local candidates face-to-face, ask tough questions and demand answers. We can also do more than make a campaign donation. We can make phone calls, walk precincts, host coffees and otherwise help get out the vote for our favorite candidates and issues. Through our united actions as citizens, we can even overturn Citizens United.
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