A Few Tips For Following

A Local Election Campaign

It was interesting, and even a little exciting, to watch the political adversaries for this year’s local elections choose up sides this week. Democrats and Republicans caucused and endorsed their respective tickets, and, for the first time in memory, an independent slate was assembled to force a three-way race for several elective positions, including the Legislative Council, the Board of Education, and even the Police Commission. With so many issues percolating — Fairfield Hills, traffic congestion, school funding, the property tax rate, and long-range planning — the crowd of candidates will have plenty to talk about before the ballots are cast on November 6. And voters will have plenty to consider.

As professional listeners with long experience taking notes before the soapbox, we have a few tips for voters who may have difficulty parsing political palaver and distilling information that will actually be useful when it comes time to make a decision in November.

First, let people speak for themselves and heavily discount what their opponents say about them. Candidates should be given the opportunity to say what their positions are rather than having them defined by an opponent. Yes, candidates will have only positive things to say about themselves, but the alternative presents the depressing prospect of spending the campaign sorting through a barrage of negativity. Accentuating the negative fosters discord, disrespect, and resentment, which is a poor starting place for those who would administer a town, or any enterprise for that matter. Be more interested in what candidates are for than what they are against.

Ignore comments and promises by candidates that have nothing to do with the office they are seeking. For example, if a Planning and Zoning Commission candidate argues for smaller class sizes and property tax reform, a vote for that person won’t get you any closer to those goals. It also indicates that the candidate does not know very much about what the Planning and Zoning Commission does.

Beware of candidates who promise to run town government like a business. There is no business in the world that approximates the controlled chaos of local democratic government. Town administrators must ultimately put all financial decisions in the hands of an often unpredictable electorate, which can look over their shoulders at every turn with the help of the Freedom of Information Act, second guessing every decision. It takes a special kind of person to navigate the tricky political crosscurrents of an informed, active, and interested community like Newtown. Business acumen is useful in many situations, but it is not necessarily an indicator of success in public service.

Finally, don’t settle for platitudes and generalities. Demand details. It may make you feel good to know that a candidate is for all things good and against all things bad. But in government, good things come about and bad things are beaten back only through slow, painstaking, persistent, and incremental progress through myriad alternatives subject to layered thickets of federal, state, and local laws and regulations. It takes know-how. When candidates say what they will do, be sure to ask them how they will do it.

Our only other advice is to enjoy the local election campaign. It can be colorful, fun, poignant, and informative. In many ways, it tells the story of our town. And the best part is that we get to write the ending of that story at the polls on November 6.