Democracy and representation

So what’s the matter with giving the voters a chance to vote on ______? (Just fill in the blank with whatever particular cause you support, such as lowering taxes, supporting education, or protecting views.) After all, shouldn’t the people be allowed to decide?

One needn’t look further than Sacramento to see the perils of “democracy without accountability.” Since 1978, California voters have voted again and again to spend money (for K-12 education, transportation, school construction and housing bonds after-school programs, mental health care, parks etc.), and at the same time, they’ve repeatedly voted to cut or restrict taxes (Proposition 13, Jarvis-Gann Limit, Proposition 218 etc.). The result is a $14 billion mismatch between spending and revenues – and scrambling by the Governor and Legislature to once again raid local government and transportation revenues to postpone the day of fiscal reckoning.

Ventura is caught in the same vise. SOAR and Measure “A” votes clearly indicated that local voters don’t want to sprawl onto surrounding farms and hillsides. But a small group of activists have gathered enough signatures to force a vote that will shut down development in most of the City until they can write a “view protection” ordinance to restrict future infill projects. That may not be inconsistent (a majority of voters might not want much development anywhere – or at least anywhere near them). But it is unaccountable – because it leaves to the dreaded “government” or “politicians” to figure out how to still provide needed housing, obey State laws, spur reinvestment in older urban areas and protect the environment through smarter land use.

We’re in the same boat fiscally. While 62% of Ventura voters want more police officers and firefighters (and were willing to pay higher taxes for them), a solid one out of three voters vehemently opposes higher taxes or fees. Under the complex rules adopted by a majority of California voters, that one-third has a virtual stranglehold on fiscal resources. Once again, “democracy without accountability,” leaves “government” and “politicians” to reconcile the conflicting desires of the electorate – and leaves voters free to castigate others for failing to “carry out the will of the people” to make everyone happy.

This blurred accountability is not, of course, a new problem. It’s why the founders deliberately chose Roman representation over Athenian democracy as their model back in 1789. But when the legitimacy of representative government was undermined by corruption (in the days when railroad barons controlled our State capitol), California adopted elements of direct democracy as a check against abuse of power.

What started out as a reform to curb abuse, however, has now become a way for voters to “have their say” on a flurry of State and local issues. It has also given narrow viewpoints and special interests direct access to making law. Courtesy of the mercenary “rent an election” industry of professional signature gatherers, enough voters can be persuaded to sign almost anything with a catchy title and an appealing sound bite. If enacted, these increasingly deceptive and surreal propositions override the delicate balancing act of governing. Enshrined as “the will of the people,” these simplistic initiatives cancel out the common sense and sound judgment of the people those same voters elect to public office. This bewildering patchwork of overlapping and contradictory signals threatens to make government unworkable – ironically spawning even more half-baked initiatives to “solve” problems.

On any given day, “the will of the people” shifts with the way the pollsters ask their questions. It may be that we are headed toward governing our nation, state and local community the way we select “American Idol” winners. That is certainly the conclusion you would come to by reading the daily expression of public opinion on the Ventura County Star website. On the other hand, the increasingly intractable problems with “democracy without accountability” may finally restore legitimacy to representative government. It’s not a perfect system. But holding elected leaders accountable for making tough choices has proven itself over a far longer time than the current mania for resorting to the ballot box (or courts) to address our challenges.