[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a Letter to the Editor, written and submitted by a verified resident. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of South King Media, nor its staff.]
Local government is where real decisions are made. While the federal government gets most of the attention, it has less impact on our daily lives than local governments. Your local city council has more control over your everyday life than any other level of government.
Your city council determines how you may use your property. It sets the speed limits on the streets before your home and business. It protects you from dangers to your life and property. It sets standards for everyday relations between neighbors.
Unfortunately, people are frequently unaware of who presides over their local governments until issues come to their backyard. Schools no longer have a civics curriculum, yet we can vote at the age of 18. Because we generally pay little attention to local government, we get suspicious when things change and we don’t know what is happening. We form strong opinions based on 10-second sound bites, sensational news articles, and quirky neighborhood rumors. But are we involved?
After more than 50 years engaging in local politics, I generally find there are at least three kinds of people when it comes to civic engagement: there are people who want something; there are people who don’t want them to have it; and there is a large group of people who don’t know there’s something going on. Which one are you?
We are in the middle of the two-year election cycle for our city council. It has come down to two people competing for each of the three council positions. Candidates have tried to reach us through neighborhood doorbelling, mailings, social media, and blog posts. But are we listening? Are we doing our own research? Do we care enough to know what’s actually going on?
The city council may not be glamorous, but real power is exercised and real change can be made in the lives of everyday people. Please get to know the candidates, research the issues, and VOTE in the best interests of the entire community.
– Stephen Lamphear
Shorewood, Burien
Former City Councilmember 1998-2005
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The problem, I find, is there is rarely any accurate or detailed information. If you go to a candidate run information page, pamphlet, or flyer, or even speak face to face, the information is is typically minimal in detail, and is only the information the candidate wants you know. The Voters Guide is laughable. I don’t want to know what the candidate things of themselves… that’s not helpful in my decision making. There seems to be no neutral, truthful information sources. So, my question is, where are we to look for accurate and truthful information regarding current candidates and the REAL issues?