All Politics Really Are Local

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Tip O’Neill famously declared “all politics is local." You can take such a statement in a variety of ways, but there are some profound truths hidden in there.

The 2011 municipal primary election is on Tuesday and voter turnout is expected to be extremely low, especially as compared to the large turnout typically seen in Presidential election years. If not for the sea of campaign signs littering landscapes everywhere, most people may not even know which offices are up for election.

All federal offices, such as president, senate and members of congress run in even-numbered years, along with statewide offices like governor and the state Legislature. In the odd-numbered years,local offices such as borough council, township supervisor, school board director, along with county-wide row officers and judges are elected. Magisterial district justices are also elected in odd-numbered years.

The tendency is to focus on the larger races taking place in even-numbered years, for a variety of legitimate reasons. Federal and statewide executive and legislative races almost always draw more media attention.

Most people don’t seem to care a whole lot about local elections unless they personally know the candidate. That isn’t just my opinion; the voter turnout numbers speak for themselves. It’s really unfortunate, because many of these races have a far greater impact than most people may imagine.

One position that doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it should is school board director. Considering the non-stop and very vocal opposition to property taxes expressed by the overwhelming majority of my constituents, it blows my mind that more people don’t take a stronger interest in the people running their school board. The reason is simple; despite all the beating we take in the state Legislature and Congress about taxes, the power to set your school district property taxes rates is firmly in the hands of your local school board.

A frustrating situation developed in recent years when Pennsylvania property owners finally began to receive property tax relief from casino gambling. The tax relief was deducted from your school tax bill, partially because it was far cheaper than processing and mailing checks to everyone in Pennsylvania and we wanted to minimize red tape. No one was happier than I was when I could let my constituents know they were finally about to receive property-tax relief after years of political promises.

So you can imagine my dismay when some of the school boards in my legislative district used the opportunity to raise school taxes, depriving people of their long-awaited tax relief. I’m not demonizing anyone; I’m just giving an example of how important local government can be to your daily life, despite many local races staying far below the radar leading up to election day.

In light of the crippling budget cuts proposed by Gov. Tom Corbett to education funding in the 2011-12 state budget, there is more pressure than ever on local school boards. Considering the important and difficult choices most districts will have to make, and the impact they will have on students and taxpayers, there is really no excuse to stay home or stay uninformed.

Decisions are made by those that show up. Go vote on May 17.