I am the inventor of VotePlusPlus, and the Vice Mayor of a tiny City in California. I was asked to run for office by a local bartender and minor celebrity, based on the success of her establishment and being a member of the City Council. She was recently appointed Mayor, which is how it’s done in California General Law cities. I had spoken to the Mayor about VotePlusPlus years ago, before the lockdown, and about my longing for better quality leadership in government as is properly owed to the people. Her proposal that I serve locally intrigued me. Would that be a distraction or an essential learning experience?
Here’s what I can say now: local American politics are as adversely affected by a broken election system as the top level positions and most powerful offices in the nation. It’s not just me saying so. Unlike most other Councilmembers, I RSPV’d to all invitations to meet and greet State officials. That taught me their perspectives on state and national politics, and their more pure motivations for improving public welfare and prosperity. Party affiliation seldom had anything to do with it. At every level, they seemed resigned, bewildered and cynical. Only when I suggested that the system that selected them and the fights they had to perpetrate or endure to win were irrelevant and wasteful of their actual contribution did they seem to exhibit any hope for the future. I can also say that when you are part of the pomp and ceremony of government service a malaise tends to settle in. If you read your lines and play the part then you can strike another day off the calendar. Nobody who is sincerely motivated to make a difference can be satisfied with that level of thoughtlessness.
I am more motivated than ever to see the VotePlusPlus system enacted. We don’t need any laws to change. We just need to build it and watch it run. It can start as an informational supplement to local or regional elections and grow from there. Someday, we should be ratifying a credible proposal for governmental structure and leadership posts, not having to select the most bombastic or toxic celebrity from the media roster. Please join me in promoting true reform, which will positively affect your personal lives more than you may realize.