There’s a reason I focus on local politics. It’s where we build community. Local politics represent one of the best places to interact with elected officials. We have much more influence over the outcomes in a local election—and influence over the policies that hit closest to home.
The latest City Council meeting offers insight into the impact citizens can have when they get involved. Of course, I’m biased because my parents were involved.
My parents went into the last City Council meeting with little hope that their concerns would be considered. After “neighborhood meetings” in which developers talked down to community members and after reading the planning commission members’ remarks, they expected to be dismissed by council members.
They weren’t dismissed. And they’re grateful.
My parents, Mack and Teri Smith, did extensive research. They looked through pages of zoning rules and learned about variances and PUDs. They banded together with their neighbors and talked about what makes a community. And they learned about what truly makes affordable housing.
Simply building more housing (Idaho Falls’ housing supply currently exceeds the number of households by more than 1,500 units) doesn’t create affordable homes. The plan the developer presented in my parents’ neighborhood required multiple variances that ignored drainage and emergency safety, yet failed to provide affordable homes.
Our council members are thoughtful and willing to listen to constituents. A few years ago, citizens got together to ask the council to move the new water tower and save one of our small city parks. While we might not always agree with statutes passed and decisions made by the city council, it’s worth noting that when we show up, our city council gives us a hearing.
And that’s the key.
In a democracy like our constitutional republic, citizen participation is part and parcel of governing. Rather than getting angry about decisions after the fact, we have a duty to pay attention before things get “this bad.”
I get it. It can be difficult to pay attention to all that’s going on. No one can be expected to keep track of everything. However, our local city councils in Idaho Falls and Ammon publish agendas and share the minutes from their work meetings. Department meetings provide minutes and agendas. Skim this information to get an idea of what’s coming and dig deeper into issues of interest.
During the state legislative session, it can be even harder to keep track of things. It’s a compressed session in which hundreds of bills are introduced—many of them culture-war issues that have little bearing on Idahoans’ well-being. Even so, skimming committee agendas or following bill trackers, like those provided by the ACLU, can help you at least identify the legislation likely to do the most harm.
Just one hour a week can help you be a more informed citizen. And if there’s something I’ve learned from elections at the national, state and local level, it’s that we all need to be better engaged in the process.
Miranda Marquit, Master of Business Administration, is a nationally recognized financial wellness expert, writer, speaker and podcaster. She is the vice chair of the Bonneville County Democratic Central Committee.