Reponse to "Move Over Texas"

In "Move Over Texas" Alan Banda talks about our Governor Rick Perry and his failed attempt at running for President. I agree that there needs to be a better system in place for when this occurs. A sort of campaign sabbatical where the Lt. Governor can take charge in the absence of the actual governor, which is supposed to happen when there is an emergency, impeachment, or what have you. Also, the actual governor will not still take in money from a job he is not doing. A stepping down process when the decision to run for another office is made. It actually surprises me that there is not something like this already in place.

I do not agree that had he gone further into the race for president this would not be such a big deal. I think it would have been a bigger deal, Rick Perry would have spent more time away from Texas and more time not doing what governors do and all of his time and energy would have been focused on his fight to be president. I am very grateful that he is no longer in the running and I hope he does not get re-elected here in Texas.

As for having a bunch of white privileged guys in office, that sounds about right, and it pisses me off too. If it was not so expensive to campaign or if they were paid better once they came into office I think we would see more diversity, also if we get the marginalized communities out to the polls to actually vote we would start to see a change. Voting has to matter to the people before we can start seeing a change and the system needs a lot of work and the right people to do it, it is a cycle that needs to start. But who are those people? Too bad we can not just hit the refresh button and have a whole fresh start!

You hear a lot of people complain about change. We need it, I agree. But, there are far too few people who actually step up to the challenge and take on people like Rick Perry and The State of Texas. My suggestion for getting Rick Perry and his cronies out of our government is to go and vote, talk about how you are going to vote, tell everyone how cool it is, and if we continue this trend and get people to the polls, maybe in a few years our voices will start to make an impact. Unfortunately, Rick Perry will have left his mark pretty damn deep in our system and it will be hard to try and fix a system that is working pretty well for the elite and privileged like him and others.

I still have a hard time telling people that their voices will matter at the polls but sometimes you have to work with the system you are fighting against. I look at it like I am a covert spy from the other side learning how the system works so eventually me and others like me will be able to start making a difference and helping those who have been oppressed by big politicians. 

A cheesy quote from SLC Punks: "We can do a hell of a lot more damage in the system than outside of it." 

It is Time for Those Who Lead to Give a S***

Give the power back to the people by empowering the people.

With voter turn out for city elections being around 7.4% it is disconcerting to say the least. But, why is that? Why do people not care about what will eventually affect them? What can city officials do to get people involved and do they really want the masses to be involved? Are we down the road from a world like “Idiocracy”?

City Council meetings are open to the public. You can attend these meetings and get on stack to speak about various topics on Thursdays, starting at 10am. But, how many people know that and/or how many people would be willing to sit through a meeting that can go on and on, filled with terminology that is confusing to even the well educated among us?

Have the people who are supposed to represent us become so inaccessible that it has made the average citizen apathetic and willing to be lead blindly because they feel they have no real choice, or for that matter a voice? I think so. If you walk down the street and stop ten people here in Austin, I have actually done this, and ask them who are the top three mayoral candidates for the upcoming election, I bet the majority of them would not even be able to tell you who the current mayor is. It is Lee Leffingwell by the way. I would not even bother asking them if they knew who sits on City Council. These people who hold these positions are going to directly affect the lives of those living in Austin. They make decisions like plastic bag use, where a Wal-mart can be placed, noise ordinances, smoking ordinances, raising energy cost, with all the hidden fees, all the 'little' things we love to bitch about but have no idea who came up with it in the first place. Is it our own fault? Whose fault is it?

I believe that people, if given the chance and the education, would answer the call and become involved. But how? It would be a monumental challenge and it would take some people like the Mayor and those sitting on City Council to get off their butts and actually start to engage the communities and hold accessible city council meetings, and for lack of better terms, the meetings will need to be jazzed up and dumbed down a little but still cover the important facts. They will need to step out of City Hall and into the communities not just during elections! They will need to have teams to go door to door, inviting residents out of their homes to engage in an open dialogue about things that will affect them. I know this is pretty optimistic, but with even a small step in this direction we might see an increase in voter turnout. It is all about giving the power back to the people and waking them up and letting them know that their voice does matter they just need to start shouting louder and they need a place to do it.

Every time I go to City Hall I laugh a little, mainly because the statue itself is a little odd looking but also I laugh because of what it is suppose to represent. I will post it below. It is supposed to symbolize having a voice, but there are some out there who do not know they have a voice and do not know there is a place for them to share it.

 I believe that if our elected officials start to ACTUALLY engage their constituents and become part of the community they represent, then and only then will people start to care. I believe it is their duty to at least try and get people involved. They have a duty to educate and represent even the most under educated and poorest am
ong us. They need to take care of the weakest members and we will all become stronger. Lead people to education and give them the ability to make a change in their own community and we will grow and we might even become less distrustful of those who rule. Until people start to feel like they can actually make a difference we will continue to see low voter turn out. It is partly the individual's fault but it is also those who lead us.

PS Just in case you want to get involved or write letters these are the people who sit on Austin City Council:
Mayor Lee Leffingwell

Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole

Chris Riley Place 1

Mike Martinez Place 2

Kathie Tovo Place 3

Laura Morrison Place 4

Bill Spelman Place 5

All of these people are up for re-election May 12! For once I will actually be voting. My faith in the system is still not there, but I might as well try.

Check out this guy who is running for Mayor! He looks a little young, but I think this is what we need! He is also going to propose holding city council meetings on the weekends and monthly meetings for citizens to voice their concerns!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C--dFtYFcU&feature=relmfu