Politics, the virus of democracy

Apathy is an instrument of political campaigns. We see it in the disrespect shown to voters by the sound bites used to promote a politician’s virtues. They offer accomplishments; anticipating voters won’t know what and if they were contributors to a cited amenity while railing against soaring taxes as though they were engaged in their refrain.

Westwood’s Councilman Robert Miller’s reelection campaign is a perfect example. He declared in local papers his happiness with his efforts to reduce town debt over the past 6 years. Even cites an amount, $1.1 million; counting on voter indifference accepting the bold declaration as fact.

The reality – as per Westwood’s municipal debt statements, that declaration is only bold in its audacity. The 12/31/2007 debt stood at $18,856,275; at 12/31/2012 it stood at $19,914,968. That’s 5 years, and in most calculations, equals about a $1.06 million increase in debt. And that amount doesn’t include this 6th year’s additions, $415K for Veteran’s Park, $123K for a 911 System upgrade, $119K for a borough hall security system upgrade, $300K Property Tax Revale, $142K for public works equipment, $76K for Landfill Emission monitoring, $100K for landfill repairs and the list goes on with various smaller debt expenditures.

However the political anticipation of apathy extends beyond simply a voter’s awareness of facts. After assuming only a third of residents read local papers and a third vaguely know the issues, they assume the third to 50% that vote are at least 50% akin to a lemming. Voters that vote the partisan line, content with the status quo. Unfortunately, what if that status quo isn’t working?  

Mr. Miller as the case in point, with the enabling assistance of a Mayor, kept a discussion on promotion policy active for a year. There were many other issues of importance that could have, and should have, been debated. That policy issue made short shrift of real community concerns.

For example, Westvale Park, built on a landfill, has a problem with methane gas collecting in its concession facility, prompting a temporary shutdown by the DEP, requiring it to have active ventilation fans and alarms installed. That was an issue that is part of a whole larger problem festering from earlier in the year, but was breezed over while the promotion policy was being discussed.

The landfill problem was the recipient of $100K in new debt spending at the Sept. 15th Mayor and Council meeting, even though the repairs weren’t clearly defined. That’s one way to assure an open pit for even more debt spending. That lack of discussion defined no budget parameters or expectations for those funds, other than to state a problem needs to be addressed.

It’s easy to fall into a belief that one vote makes no difference but each individual vote does make a difference. Besides tipping an election, the percentage of voter turnout is monitored by politicians. If less than 50% of the registered voters engage the politicians are lulled into believing the community is satisfied with the status quo. In Westwood, the current status quo is spending a lot of money that may eventually require a special vote to raises taxes above the cap.

Politics is ultimately an environment of exaggeration born of human nature’s interaction with the democratic process. It requires the publics’ attention. John F. Kennedy noted, “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” Democracy only works with participation. Know your candidate and vote.