“Getting out the vote” and public discourse

Tomorrow (Tuesday, October 6) is a day of local elections in the Fairbanks North Star Borough.  I’ve done a little work on one campaign, enough to make me sad for the state of electoral politics.
I spent one evening and one morning recently (in separate weeks) working for a particular local candidate.  (I’ll say that he’s [...]

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How “the government” spends money better than I can

Today’s challenge: Can you think of five ways that government spends money better than you could?
There is an oft-used conservative talking point — or rhetorical flourish — that we (the “taxpayers”) know how to spend our money better than “the government”.  It is a talking point that masks selfishness and reeks of anti-civicism, and it [...]

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Questions for local candidates: your input needed

This October 9, we’ll elect a new mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, three members of the Borough Assembly (seats A, F, and G), and two members of the Fairbanks City Council (seats A and B) .  I’d like to make some endorsements — but I’ll need your help, first.
It may be naïvely hopeful, [...]

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Vision Fairbanks lives to fight another day — but just barely

A quick news flash, because I’m tired: Jerry Cleworth’s resolution, which I think would have kneecapped the downtown revitalization effort,  failed — though only through a tie-breaking vote by the mayor.  The final vote: For, Cleworth, Roberts, and Stiver; Against, Bratcher, Gatewood, Eberhart, and Mayor Strle.  (News-Miner story here.)
As I posted Saturday, City Councilman Jerry [...]

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The perils and the seduction of self-sorting

I’ve just finished a book that leaves me troubled over the future of civic engagement in the United States — and puzzled over whether it’s even worth worrying about.
Bill Bishop’s book The Big Sort: How the Clustering of Like-minded America is Tearing Us Apart (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008) has one central thesis: since the [...]

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Thinking gratitude

At a very happy dinner party on “Thanksgiving Eve”, each of us was invited in turn to name something he or she was grateful for.  It would have been rude of me to hog the floor for the sake of being thorough, so I kept mine fairly brief.  I’m going to expand on it here.
I [...]

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The passage of Vision Fairbanks

As I reported earlier, and as readers of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner may may have read, the Vision Fairbanks downtown revitalization plan passed the Borough Assembly 8-0.  While this seems like a stunning coup, I have worries.
First, some highlights (or at least points of interest):
Dozens of citizens testified — and just about all in favor.  [...]

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Freedom, coercion, and community: The people’s thing, part 2

This post continues thoughts begun in “The people’s thing?” about three weeks ago.
(If you’re wondering where my fuller report is on the Vision Fairbanks public hearing before the FNSB Assembly, it’s coming.  This is now a little more timely.  And it’s what I feel like writing about today.)
As I said in “The people’s thing?”, there [...]

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Good news, bad news: How Vision Fairbanks fared at the Assembly

This can only be brief right now, since it’s late and I need to go to bed.
The good news is, Vision Fairbanks passed the Assembly 8-0-1.  (Nadine Winters had a conflict of interest and had to recuse herself.)
The bad news is, the version that passed was the weaker of the two proposed — one that [...]

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Open letter to FNSB Assembly on Vision Fairbanks

For those just tuning in: The Borough Assembly will hold a public hearing on Vision Fairbanks this Thursday evening (Aug. 21) at 6:00.  Be there, speak in favor of its adoption, and wear blue to show your support!
More details here.
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Following is a letter I’ve just sent to the members of our Borough Assembly:
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Good [...]

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