Municipal Governments: Representative Democracy At Its Best

There is a lot to like about how residents of municipalities, including Peachtree City, govern ourselves. We don’t have the built-in hindrances of the federal government, and the governing system allows simple majorities to make decisions so relatively few people decide and get things done.

This, of course, means residents should pay attention to what’s going on and participate when necessary because municipal government decides major quality of life issues such as how much we pay in property tax and, to some extent, sales tax. City council also determines the extent of public safety and how they interact with the community, city maintenance priorities, and availability of recreational and leisure opportunities and public events.

I’m frustrated with national politics as I’m sure people of all political persuasions are. Monied interests, and not the voices of regular people, control what happens in Washington, and the vestiges of bygone eras such as the electoral college and the filibuster mean for many things congress and the president don’t follow the popular will of the people.

Some will argue that this is a feature and not a bug, and I will agree with them because our founders were concerned with ensuring the liberty of the American people above all else. When things are too easy to change or don’t have built-in checks and balances, it can lead to unintended results and consequences that affect millions of people. Still, change is frustratingly slow.

In municipal governments, however, we don’t have the historical legacy of the federal government. In Peachtree City, we elect our city council in at-large, city-wide elections, and we have five members of city council including the mayor. Barring a resignation or abstention, all their votes will not be tied as a mathematical certainty so they can make decisions based on popular will.

It is easy to get things done, but easy is different than trivial. Even in Peachtree City change takes a lot of work, but there are not arcane rules or systems that stop anything, and representative democracy can do its thing.

It takes a relatively small number of people to decide an election. In the latest Peachtree City municipal election, incumbent Mr. Clint Holland prevailed over Mr. Joe Campbell by 216 votes out of 11,010 cast, a 2% difference. 216 is not a huge number of people. I’m sure Mr. Campbell has many connections in the community, but Mr. Holland had the benefits of incumbency and a record to run on, still, Mr. Campbell came very close.

It is not a secret that Mr. Holland is active in his church and the local American Legion post, and between those organizations, I suspect he personally knows at least 216 people he could ask to vote for him, and this could make a difference assuming the rest of the voters knew both Mr. Holland and Mr. Cambell only as political candidates without any other meaningful connection.

The direction of municipal government is set both by the people who show up to vote and the squeaky wheels, residents who want something to change and will use all channels available to make their voices heard. It doesn’t take many people to get behind an idea and effect change. All it takes is three votes- not hundreds- by mayor and council to get something done.

The squeaky wheels have an opportunity to address our elected officials at public, pre-announced meetings. The public comment period before council meetings means residents can directly address the representatives they elected. Except for county-level government, this is nearly impossible at higher levels of government. I have addressed mayor and council on several occasions, both in favor of and against policies under review.

Last fall a few Peachtree City residents didn’t like that their neighbors could burn yard waste, apparently for days on end, and showed up to a public comment period. The challenge is the residents who would be in favor of continued burning of yard waste don’t know an ordinance change may be in the works, but Peachtree City has been publishing agendas electronically for all city meetings for a several years now through several channels, and it is incumbent on all residents to stay informed. Armchair quarterbacking after the fact doesn’t solve the problem, and once city council makes a decision, it is not something that can be reversed quickly.

Other issues that affect quality of life decided by the squeaky wheels were decisions to gate the Planterra subdivision to stop drivers from cutting through at high speed, approval to start of construction of new pickleball courts last fall, and the blocking and subsequent unblocking of access to Kedron Hills from Tyrone. At most a few dozen people supported each of these. It didn’t take hundreds, and definitely not thousands, to push for those decisions, but it did take showing up at council meetings and speaking at public comment periods. I suspect when adults show up with kids and have them speak, especially for something related to health and safety, bonus points are awarded.

Last fall when the required public comment period about the Peachtree City budget was on the agenda, one other individual and I were the only ones to comment on it. Given the things I read in The Citizen about the budget, there should have been ten or 100 times more commentors showing up.

The style of municipal government we have in Peachtree City works, and I’m a fan of it because we can influence locally how much we pay in property taxes, and, to some extent, in sales tax when various SPLOSTs are on the ballot. We choose how public safety treats residents and the access to recreation and local events. City maintenance, which affects home values, arguably the single largest expense most people will ever have, is also under our control.

All of this means we should research and vote for the candidates who support our views, and we have a responsibility to stay informed and speak up when necessary. Please subscribe to Peachtree City’s email about public meetings and read The Slice when it comes out to see meeting agendas for things you may want to address to our leaders, either through email or at public comment periods. Government is taken care of by the people that show up.