Is democracy an endangered species?
In 2003 when I first ran for school committee, the local paper spent the previous year publishing quasi-news stories and editorials centered around two basic themes: the school committee is failing the community because of the teachers’ raises and we should change to an appointed board. Sound familiar? At that time, as an outspoken member of the Citywide Parent Council, I was confused by the vehemence against the board and disappointed by the lack of balanced reporting of the challenges facing our schools. I was also uncomfortable by the silence of the committee, and so began my own journey of letters to the editor, running for office, and eventually this blog. (As we have all seen, taking on an entity that buys ink by the barrel is not without consequences.)
Meanwhile, the drum roll for an appointed school committee continues: Fewer people are running, the leaders are not held accountable, people are not voting, voters are not paying attention etc. Aside from the fact that an appointed committee will not do one thing to improve these concerns—particularly voter apathy and sophistication, which is another reason why excellent schools are an absolute necessity—I cannot get beyond the simple question of who will do the appointing and how will it ensure accountability? Instead, I fear we will end up with an appointed board of connected politicos with agendas that will not be held up to public scrutiny.
There is an area, however, in which the paper and I agree: the lack of people running and voting is alarming. In a post last week, I mentioned how less people are running for school committee, which is true of most elected seats these days. In www.richardhowe.com Marie wrote about this fall’s state elections, “Senators Panagiotakos and Tucker, Representatives Golden, Nangle, Garry, Miceli, Finegold and Tucker have no primary or Republican opposition.” (my bold) Yes, our democracy is in crisis, but appointed boards are not the answer. In the end, we get the government we deserve, and that means fighting to keep democracy alive rather than hastening its demise.