Why are Teabags pushing for a fundamental change in how local Government operate?

[moobu2]

I'm referring to this recent trendy issue they seem to have where a city manager is appointed by some council instead of an elected Mayor/City council system for local government? Our local TB-Republican city councilman caused a big stink today by bringing that up, naturally, he brought it up in a backhanded way. Is it an issue that ALEC is pushing or some other right-wing think-tank or some crazy ass billionaire? Anybody know? I watched Rachel Maddow tonight and she briefly mentioned that the Michigan governor is appointing these managers for many of the towns around his state. Is it more widespread than I know? I like to stay up on the tafctics of those teabaggers, you know.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

1. So far I'm hearing that it's only happening in Michigan

It was rammed through by the Michigan (Republican) legislature in 2011, declared unconstitutional in the courts (I believe) and scrapped, but then "fixed" and rammed through again during a lame duck session at the end of last year.

Frankly, I have a hard time understanding how this can even be considered legal- on its face- and not an affront to our system of checks and balances. Let's hope that this idea doesn't spread but it seems like the bad ideas (i.e. eliminating state income taxes) are spreading rapidly (like viruses) since 2011 and, yes, I suspect that it is ALEC that is pushing many of these kind of initiatives at the state and local level.

[demwing]

2. Privatization = Corporate Domination

Privatizing local government is the wedge that will break open a path to privatization at the County and State levels, and ultimately to the Federal level.

They want it all, they always have. They will take, take, take. They will never stop taking.

[SharonAnn]

9. Voters no longer count. Appointed "bosses" can steal everything from them.

This is just a way to "privatize" government and put it into the hand of crony capitalism. Voters no longer would have any say whatsoever about what is done at the local level.

Steal your schools and sell them to a crony? Check
Steal your parks and sell them to a crony? Check.
Steal your gollf courses and sell them to a crony?
Steal your water plant and sell it to a crony? Check
Steal your sewer treatment lant and sell it to a crony? Check
Steal your law enforcement and fire fightin depts and sell them to a crony? Check
Steal your roads, parking meters, parking lots and sell them to a crony? Check

And, of course, there will be no regulations and no performance of fee requirements on these crony "businesses". They can do whatever they want and charge whatever they want.

[sigmasix]

3. I lived in Michigan until December of 2012

The interesting thing about the Governor's appointed governance is that it is very blue cities and counties he's doing it to. He uses the excuse that the locals don't know how to stay in budget and run the local mechanisms of Governance. I've noticed that the targets of this De-democratization are almost always low income areas with large minority populations. One of my suspicions is that the Teabaggers are going to try to pass voter stipulation laws or some other form of legislation that devalues the voting power of Americans living within the "Failed" districts, those districts almost always vote very heavily democratic. The right wingers in Michigan have been working on giving farmers and other suburban dwellers greater political voice than urban dwellers for years. The reasoning is almost always based on financial or political success.

So, in Michigan there are Teabaggers that want to turn back voting rights law already-The local Teabaggers in the extreme southern edge of Michigan have even suggested that landlords and other wealthy real estate holders should have the right to vote in every district they own property.
To paraphrase my 13 year old daughter; "Anti-American Much?"
But it's a hotbed of NRA-mind-heads. They're a bunch of "Mavericks"; voting for the guy with a good grade from the NRA.

[blkmusclmachine]

4. A pauper in your own Country.

Welcome to the Police State.

[LiberalFighter]

5. The way it is done in Michigan imo is unconstitutional - maybe it is not

But it is undemocratic.

Michigan doesn't have their city councils appoint the city manager. The governor does.

As for city councils appointing a city manager I don't like that method either. But it has been going on for at least 50 years in Wisconsin.

[Sunlei]

7. I wish someone would take the system of local associations/councils to Federal court as

unconstitutional. Americans do have a right to life, liberty and to vote for their own overlords or not?

[Sunlei]

6. Take a look at the most local of Big Gov. all the rules and regulations.

All the permits and fees for the simple things in life, like a garage sale, a lost pet sign,a home alarm, a pet yearly fee,how tall your grass is, what trash you can place at the curb and when,what color your house paint is. How many pets you can have, what home business you can have in your own home.

Now take a look at the fines if you break any rules, the fines if you don't pay the fines. Fines for false alarms.Permission for the local police to go through your home with any alarm, even a false alarm you set off by accident. move in inspections, re-inspections, move out inspections. Up to the point that local big gov. has the legal clout to take your home away if you don't pay the fines. They retain good lawyers to make sure you'll never win and you'll pay those costs too.

Your local Gov is the most oppressive of all. The republican masters Lord over the little peons system. Knighting their local baggers as paid-guards to watch for any rule breaking and hand out tickets for fines.

[midwest irish]

8. Very, very normal in Ohio

in fact Dayton was the first city to fully adopt the city manager method. We have it in our town. I dont see any problems with it. In fact, I think it works better because you have a professional running the day-to-day operations of a city instead of a politician. The elected officials can always fire them. I mean, any government run by republicans is going to screw people over. I got a masters certificate from a program that basically trains city managers for the region. I have never seen anything inherently evil in city manager run municipalities.

[SharonAnn]

10. Ah, but with this, the local councils have NO SAY! They don't hire them or fire them. They cannot

even meet unless the appointed "Boss" permits it.

The local elected government is bsically dissolved and all decision are made by the Boss who is appointed by a state crony (the governor and friends).

In Dayton, The City Council hires the City Manager, monitors his/her performance, and can fire him/her. The City Council has the actual power, they just have the City Manager perform the administrative duties.

[midwest irish]

11. I missed that part in the story.

Last edited Mon Feb 25, 2013, 02:25 PM - Edit history (1)

Yes, this is truly undemocratic. Thanks.

[Ikonoklast]

12. The city manager model is a pretty good one, just as long as the voters get to fire them.

These guys are not 'city manager's, they are defacto dictators appointed with no voter oversight.

Michigan is setting itself up for a huge Federal intervention soon.

Wait for it.