Down The Sewer Pipe – Politically Speaking

Sam Adams is now mayor elect of the City of Portland Oregon.  He thinks he obtained this position because he is smart and powerful people like him.  He is, of course wrong, he obtained this position because he received more votes than the other guy. Sherman

When holding elected office, you will hear a bit about something called The Public Trust. When mentioned it is usually in hushed tones, taking on a reverence all of it own.  Yet it appears that few elected persons know what, exactly, the public trust is. The Public Trust is the view the general public has,…

With the big general election coming up in a few short months it a good idea, I think, to have a discussion about what it means to be elected.  Some people seem to think that be elected you must be rich, very smart, politically savvy, or some sort of “Brain”. This is not actually true…

Town councils make promises, break promises and renege on deals all of the time.  The population at large tends to have a wait and see attitude because, they have had their hopes dash so many times.  Sounds like a bad book or a worse movie but it points out a fact. That fact is most…

One of the most vocal complaints, not the most but certainly on e of the top ten is streets and their maintenance.  People reason, not incorrectly, that since they are paying taxes the roads should be passable, without chuckholes, and swept clean of debris.   If you tell people that there isn’t money for their…

It is a little known fact, in the United States of America, that a money crisis happens at regular intervals.  Every eight years a major downturn forces governments to wring their hands and howl.  Howling about how they do not have enough money and need to raise taxes. As a participant in the process of…

Part of making decisions in the public arena is the perception that the people of you. That you have not a clue to what you are doing.  Politics, the art of making deals to get what you want, is often perceived by the public as an evil and the reason they think so is: the…

Most of the people in your community would love to know “where the money goes”.  This is the function of budgets but it is sometimes hard to find out just what is being bought. On this blog I have placed links to various governments and quasi governments and with the exception of the Town Of…