Throwing the bums out is nothing if not traditional - The Pasadena Star-News

There’s a time-honored tradition in American politics: throw the bums out!  When things don’t seem to be working, voters respond to the slogan that “it’s time for a change!”

Sometimes that works.  When City Hall in Southgate was captured by a crooked political machine, a recall election cleaned house, saving the city from bankruptcy.  In Bell, a community of low-income working families, a recall election ousted the councilmembers who’d been manipulated by a corrupt city manager who contrived obscene salaries for himself and his cronies.

More often than not, though, changing horses doesn’t fix the underlying problems. For instance, Azusa suffered through relentless political turnover. For 15 years, at least two of the five City Council seats changed hands every two years.  The result was a disastrous churn among city executives.  A revolving door of seven different city managers left the city in fiscal distress and economic decline.  Next door in Glendora, a cabal of conspiracy-minded foes of City Hall briefly seized control of the council.  The resulting chaos spurred a divisive recall and years of toxic politics.  Nearby Covina had its own tumultuous politics when voters threw out their council for imposing a utility tax — only to have those who replaced them vote to keep it.  Their supporters then turned on them.

Now we’re in the middle of a statewide upheaval. After riding a wave of approval for his high-profile leadership in the early days of the pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom is now being blamed for everything that hasn’t gone well.  His infamous unmasked dinner at the posh French Laundry crystalized resentment against his imposition of on-again, off-again business closures and other restrictions.  He’s unlikely to be unseated by any of the Republicans maneuvering to emulate Arnold Schwarzenegger (the last Republican to win statewide in California.) Yet it seems likely our state will spend the next eight months distracted by noisy electioneering instead of addressing the huge challenges we face.

Regardless of where you stand on Newsom, it bears reflecting on what we do to ourselves when we only pay close attention to politics when things go badly. Remember: the politicians we are eager to oust, we elected in the first place. If we were fooled, whose fault is that? And what’s to prevent us being fooled again?

Voters aren’t stupid. But most are woefully ignorant. Few understand how government works. How can they?  California has 5,000 governments (counties, cities, school districts and a bewildering array of special function entities including water districts, sanitation districts, library districts and even districts charged with eradicating bugs and rats.) Voters know even less about the people who represent them.  Ask the average voter: Who is your state senator? You’ll get a blank stare. Ask voters in smaller communities bordering Los Angeles: Who is your mayor?  Their best guess will probably be, “I’m not sure, but I think his name is Eric,” because L.A.’s mayor is on television.

At election time, most voters rely on advertising coming from politicians themselves, or special interests backing them. Many depend on party labels or endorsements. The result: instead of electing competent and trustworthy leaders, we’re stuck with ousting incumbents when things go wrong.

Is it naïve to think we can do better? No, it’s naïve to think we can continue to rely on recalls and term limits to compensate for making blind choices. Without an informed public, the future is gloomy for California. We need to rebuild an independent press, competitive political parties and robust civic institutions to help voters understand government and know who represents them. We get the government we deserve.

Rick Cole has served as mayor of Pasadena, deputy mayor of Los Angeles and city manager of Azusa, Ventura and Santa Monica. He welcomes feedback at venturacole@yahoo.com.

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Throwing the bums out is nothing if not traditional - The Pasadena Star-News
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