Small town
economic terrorism
The people
elected to public office Tuesday have a few weeks to celebrate before
reality sets in.
The reality
is that contrary to the assertion in the election just finished, holding
elected office in a small town does not automatically confer a personal
economic advantage on the occupant.
In fact,
for elected officials who run local businesses or hold down a job, the
contrary is true. It’s a truth that puts good local government at risk.
No elected
official has ever discussed the matter publicly. Most say it would be
unseemly. Instead of talking about it, they eventually save themselves and
their livelihoods by getting out of public office.
What the
public sees is well-qualified incumbents who do not seek re-election,
election to higher office, or who leave office early because of
"personal demands." Publicly, they say they want to give someone
else a chance to serve, or that they want to spend more time with their
families.
The fact is
they flee elected office.
Serving in
public office in the Wood River Valley can be an enormous economic
liability.
People who
seek public office with high-minded ideas about serving their communities
are often astonished to find that holding office can be detrimental to
their economic health.
They
suddenly find people will not do business with them or prefer not to hire
them. Their positions on certain issues make them subject to threats
against their personal economic security.
The
insidious situation could only exist in small towns like ours where
elected officials are paid part-time salaries and must operate businesses
or hold down jobs in addition to official responsibilities.
While our
small towns scream for purity in politicians, some constituents have no
problem throwing bunches of economic dirt around to bring a local
politician to heel.
No elected
official in any community in Blaine County is paid adequately for the time
required in the job. This and the danger of economic retribution makes
holding local elective office a shaky proposition for anyone who needs a
real paycheck.
There’s
only one logical answer: Cities must find a way to pay elected officials
full-time salaries. Otherwise, our communities risk narrowing the field of
candidates to the retired, the desperate or the unwitting.
Public
service should not be a losing proposition. It should confer neither
riches nor poverty — just fair compensation.
Until
better salaries resolve the situation, citizens in search of good
government should refrain from stooping to economic terrorism against
local elected officials. Not only is it unsavory, it’s downright
unAmerican.