State should quit pretending it believes in local control
I really don’t want to hear another Republican legislator say they favor local control on any issue. That is a key piece of conservative ideology, but what is happening in Topeka is far from that, so they need to just stop pretending.
Local control, or “home rule” as the doctrine is called, means that local people make local decisions that concern them.
The key point here is the possibility of moving elections from the spring to the fall. There are other issues where the same thing has happened, such as rules concerning carrying weapons, education funding, and a few others.
But the politicians in Topeka want to move the elections, and they seem determined to do so.
They say it will reduce cost and will get more people out to vote in local elections. The money savings is minimal. Their argument that it could increase participation has some merit, but will those additional voters even pay attention at the bottom of the ballot after they have already voted for president, congress, senate and all the rest?
The far right in Topeka also wants to add a button to the voting ballot that would allow people to vote for all politicians of a particular party with just one vote. How’s that for removing the thought process from choosing a candidate? Just vote the party line and don’t actually consider the merits of any individual running.
The arguments against moving the election far outweigh any imagined benefits. It would politicize the election, making the conservative and liberal ideologies become a major part of the debate instead of actual issues that actually matter. The local elections would also get lost in the shuffle. There is already talk about how long and confusing the November ballot is already, so how good of an idea can it be to add more confusion?
But the point here is local control.
The people in Topeka say they favor local control, but they don’t favor it on this issue. Just about every school board and city in the state is on the record as being against the idea.
There was a hearing last week, and proponents of moving the election got an hour a and half to present their views, while opponents were given 20 minutes while committee members left. That sure sounds like they are interested in hearing what local people say, doesn’t it? (Sarcasm intended).
I have reached out to our local legislators and have had little response. Ed Trimmer out of Winfield is against the idea and favors local control. He is a Democrat.
Kyle Hoffman responded but said he didn’t want to comment until it came before the House.
I also did a bit of research on the national level. Several states have tried this, but most allow local government entities to make their own decisions.
Virginia tried it several years ago and many made the move, and most are moving back now. New Jersey also tried it, and many have made the move.
As far as I could determine, Kansas is the only state forcing it on local government entities such as cities and school boards.
Politicians need to allow local control or stop saying they believe in it when they clearly do not.
