Elections are coming up. Some of you may already be voting. Generally, I try to stay away from politics on this blog. But, this point I think can be made without wallowing in what’s politely labeled “political debate.”
The election that matters to you and your preparedness level is not the one that was broadcast last night on major broadcasting outlets. I would argue that if you really want more bang for your political buck, and return on investment for your time, you need to be paying attention to your local elections. The people who sit on the local Board of Supervisors, County 
Commissioners, City Council, and in the Sheriff’s office all have way more impact on your day to day life. Heck, I could almost argue that your district school board is more important than the national elections.
Think about it, they can pass ordinances that limit or regulate aspects of your preps. Local county ordinances altered the plans for the doomstead. The county we built in does not allow black water systems. There were ways we could have chosen to fight that restriction, there are channels where the county ordinances can be changed, and a black water system added in. But, it will be a process that takes time and likely money. We had to adapt our building plans to put in a septic system, leach field and all.
Some cities have bans on front yard vegetable gardens. Can you imagine being told that you have to take out a food producing garden or face legal ramifications? It’s happened in Michigan, in Oklahoma and it’s happened in Canada, although it should be noticed that the couple in Canada made a big enough fuss that they got the ruling changed and their city is now working to draft new guidelines. It’s good they are getting the ruling changed, the attention is probably not good for opsec though.
You could of course ignore your local elections, and either suffer the consequences or quietly break the law. Those don’t seem like the best options though. Get involved, know what’s going on locally and who’s running what. If you are in the know, small efforts can yield large returns. A nay vote could mean stopping a new restriction on goats or compost piles. A suggestion during open forum of the city council could put the wheels in motion for a community prep item like a backup system for drinking water or more community gardens.
I would challenge each of you to spend at least as much time examining your local elections as you do checking in on the latest national polls. I can’t promise you it will be exciting, but it will be much more relevant.
– Calamity Jane
Elections That Matter
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30 comments
I can agree to this one…
I’ve discovered that interacting with the local government in small towns is very productive (my town has a year-round population of about 1200, and oftentimes a city electoral position is won or lost by the vote of a single family.) I’ve discovered that once a city councilcritter or the Mayor knows you’re a permanent resident, they drop everything for you out here. 🙂
good to see the Odd Questioner is still with us.
I don’t have quite that much clout with my local politicians. It’s good if they take the time to really listen to what you’re saying to them. (there are lots of “squeaky wheels” out there)
Good to be back… I’ve been kind of busy. Extremely so. 🙂
I spent one term on our local school board. It was a rough four years. People expect that you can singlehandedly get their kids unsuspended or unexpelled etc. Very demanding task.
In some locals , its illegal to loiter in your front yard if your not doing anything , crime went down as much as 25% in some areas . This was aimed at inner city areas with people with no visible means of support hanging out in their front yards then robbing their neighbors . Also in San Francisco , they had had an ordinance of how many people can be walking together in a group before being classified as a gang . It was very small , This was to give the cops a tool to break up skinhead activity in the area that were causing violent crimes . It worked .
In Ky we say that we have the best “elections that money can buy”. Its cheap too. Crooked is far to mild to call the” Selection” . Choice is the one thing we DON’T get. All to offten there is only ONE candidate on the ballot; thats it, just one, offten the same one year after year. Yeh buddy; Votin shur changes things.
hope they don’t have to learn the lessons of the “Mc Minn County War” from neighboring TN.
Nah. the deal is that we have populations in Ky that have been stable for 200+ years. My family has lived in the same village, on the same farm since the 1780s . What you get is an Inbread political system. The same familys running for office for 100+ years. They begin to think of the office as there “birthright”. This is the same mindset that has people from the mountains calling others “outsiders”. Also we are almost all Irish ,Scots, Welsh,Cornish and,and british celts, so we tend to be VERY clanish. The Upside is you tend to know everybody , and have gone to school with most of them. Now when you get to the cities things change a lot. Those S*** holes are run by Dumbocrats , they suck and I try hard not ot go in ’em
Great post! I have seen people who bought acreage who couldn’t develop it or even clear the land for farming later because the land became designated as a scrub jay nesting area! (I am in Florida). These kinds of determinations are not usually implemented on a national level, so make sure you know your local and state politicians so they don’t designate your land to save the next threatened species, or wetland, or whatever.
I have noticed too that people are organizing here to get ordinances passed to allow for backyard chickens in some areas.
EXCELLANT POINT!!!!!! I haven’t missed a presidential election since I was of age to vote, nor a local election since I purchased my home 18 years ago. I even vote the school budget and library budget every year. I feel you can’t complain if you don’t vote. Just think how many people say “Oh what difference would my lonely only vote make, so why bother.” There are thousands of you out there, and this presidential vote is so close, that they do count, so go VOTE and you can complain the next 4 years!!!!!!!
it counts Except in the presidential election , or the popular ( the people’s ) vote and the electorates vote would not be different every time . Most of the time the percentages are way off as well ………..so in that respect no ……our vote does not count .
Do you really want to be ruled over by the “Majority” ?
(the “Proletariat”, or anyone else?) I don’t want to live under permanent “one party” rule…
Actually i do ………if its not , you might as well have kept the monarchy . I’m definitely against rule by the minority . I dont need somebody voting or thinking FOR me .
I dont see how you get one party rule out of democracy . nobody in the country is in agreement over anything , Perhaps political parties are obsolete and you vote for what a man stands for and they have to state what they stand for . wont happen …just sayin .
since I left my parents home, only my wife, and (in theory) my Deity, have the power to rule over me. I do not grant that power based on a vote. the vast majority of people I meet are total numbskulls. I will not do things their way.
50%+1 is tyrany, that is why we are a Republic under the Constitution. My Rights are an endowment from my Creator, not priveleges that I would ever allow a majority vote to take away.
Unfortunately , those that dont by our beliefs , have a right to rule over us often do , because they have the power to do so and the means to enforce it , as we do not .
Here in Maine we have Town Meeting in the spring. There are around 350 adults in my town. Probably 75 come to Town Meeting so a vote really counts. We vote on the annual town budget, spending, taxes and bonds… Citizens can also bring up other business and matters to a vote. This year I plan on bringing up an article concerning in town commerce. This is something that is gaining momentum around the state. It involves keeping the state and Feds out of in town transactions. With in the town we can sell eggs, milk (raw), produce, firewood, or barter tax free and with out outside regulation. A lady over in NH (home of The Free State Project, check them out) got knife length regulations off the books. Now it is legal to carry your USMC Ka-Bar fixed blade… :-). There are also laws making sales of in state manufactured firearms free of federal regs. Bushmaster is Maine made. Just sayin’.
The Free State Project is kind of interesting. So is local currency and barter. 😀 Let us know how it goes!
yeah , blade regulations of any kind are retarded . Never heard of a drive by swording . I wonder how much crime would decrease if it was the law that everybody had to carry a rapier or sabre ? Human psychology is strange , the idea of getting shot seems less threatening than getting run through with a blade .
There was once a time when you weren’t considered a gentleman unless you did have an edged weapon on your person (you were supposed to use it to defend the weak and helpless if the situation called for it).
I think that died off sometime between WWI and WWII. Just have no real idea why…
perhaps the lack of gentelmen .
I ain’t no gentelman.
(although my parents did try their best)
I really enjoyed this post. Very practically minded and logical. Presidents don’t seem to have much power anyway, it’s really the lobbyists who are paying for their presidency.
Personally, I would like to a move to a place that encourages self-reliant behavior, but knowing that you can influence your local government gives me more hope for adapting in the place that I end up.
Alaska ……they dont call it the last frontier for nothing .
Best political post I’ve found on any of these sites. Local politics affects you exponentially more than national politics. Get involved locally and I will promise you learn twice more than you currently know about your local community.
Election! What about ZOG and the UN’s black helicopters? They don’t care about elections. You think they’ll make zoning ordinances that are favorable to prepping? That’s crazy talk, my friend.
a discussion for another day: we can oppose the ZOG, or Zionism, without being a bunch of jew haters.