Over the next few months, you will hear from candidates in office and those who seek to take their place, in cities and towns across the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Americans are notorious for staying home rather than heading to the polls for local elections. After such a contentious, disgusting Presidential Election, Americans have grown weary of the word ‘vote.’
The truth is most of Americans are under impression that voting for their executive is the most patriotic and democratic thing to do. Statistics are painting a portrait of how U. S. Citizens view the hierarchy of their government and local elections are falling on the lower end of the spectrum. Municipal elections are the chance for citizens to vote for people who they believe will …show more content…
Fort Worth municipal elections is your opportunity to shape the direction of your district, community, by choosing its leaders. In the 2015 Fort Worth General Election, only 14, 371 residents cast vote, according to the Cumulative Report by the Tarrant County Elections Administration.1
When residents fail to do their civic duty, and vote they create a disjoint between themselves and local politicians. It further allows for small groups whose interest may not align with the majority to commandeer local politics. Taken together, the small groups interest become the only interest, and people who don’t vote become marginalized in their own community.
Long ago, political machines routinely mobilized big city voters with often predictable results. Later, during the 1960s and 70s, more than two-thirds of registered voters cast ballots in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere when power shifted to racial and ethnic minorities. But now, voter participation in big cities is typically low, prompting officials to explore ways to get more people out to the polls.
Anyone concerned about better transit, clean streets, efficient garbage collection and recycling, recreational facilities and well-maintained roads has good reason to vote. So, too, does anyone caring about the quality, and future, of local …show more content…
Your local council also makes decisions about economic development, including how much business and what types of businesses choose to locate in your town or city, and the zoning of such.
As for housing, will it be condominiums, single-detached homes, or high-density housing that has become commonplace in larger cities such as town houses? Will there be options for more affordable housing?
Do you want more diversified sports and recreation facilities? Will your neighborhood be more walkable? These are all issues that impact residents daily. How you move around your town or city as well as the types of services offered by your municipality are all decisions made by local councilors with input from staff.
Do you think your community needs more parks, new or improved infrastructure projects such as community centers, or better roads?
Fort Worth Municipal politics is very different than state and federal politics because there isn’t a party or platform on where they stand on issues. Knowing where they stood on issues would certainly invoke the desire for more people to turn up at municipal