Voting is just the beginning

Voting is just the beginning

By the editor

Voting in local elections is important to ensure the best possible representation in laws and actions that affect our daily lives. But after you vote, you can use your power to make society better by getting involved in local projects. Speaking up at public hearings or organizing your neighborhood can be energizing and informative. And taking action for your town or city can deeply connect you to your community in a way that few other actions can.

Take the environment, for example. Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have weakened the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to combat pollution and use the best available science when enacting regulations. This makes climate change seem hopeless, and even the most staunch optimists who fight apathy and encourage others to do the same are tempted to ignore it.

But depending on where you live, there may be plenty of opportunities to get involved. While many cities are already working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, smaller municipalities may not. If your town doesn’t have a plan, you can start by joining the Global Covenant of Mayors on Climate and Energy, which provides tools and guidance to cities of all sizes to limit climate change.

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If your town already has a climate committee dedicated to setting goals and a system for tracking progress, ask how you can work together. There may be local advocacy groups you can join, or even support if time is an issue. If there aren’t any, attend town board meetings and ask your elected officials about their plans to develop resilience and adaptation strategies. Find out if there are grants available at the county, state, or even federal level that you can apply to your local project. Town officials aren’t necessarily blocking progress; they may be genuinely overwhelmed or unfamiliar with the resources available. You can help fill that gap. This work will help you identify the specific challenges in your community, which is often what motivates people to run for a board seat.

It’s hard to find local environmental projects that are rooted in science in places where the words “climate change” are synonymous with “liberal agenda.” Or you might live in a place like Florida, where the state government is openly opposed to climate change mitigation. But these obstacles are opportunities to be creative. For example, if you live in a hilly area that repeatedly experiences economic losses from river flooding, speak up and say that trees and shrubs are a great form of erosion control and should be protected as critical infrastructure. Look at meeting agendas to see what development projects are proposed, and organize your neighborhood to fight against mining projects that will harm the environment and make your community more vulnerable.

Use the power of your professional background to make a persuasive statement: a civil engineer can poke holes in a developer’s plans, a landscape architect can encourage the planting of native species, a wildlife biologist can explain why certain seemingly insignificant habitats play a vital role for endangered species, a lawyer can point out the disingenuous use of environmental laws that block climate-friendly policies like congestion pricing and high-density housing, a medical professional can speak about the harmful effects of pollution and excessive heat on health, and those in communications can write press releases and educate their communities on social media.

And it’s not just environmental issues. If you attend community meetings, you’ll often hear about the need to use expiring funds. For example, suggest that funds allocated for public health initiatives be used to improve access to reproductive health care. If it seems like your child’s education is missing an important curriculum, ask about it at a school committee meeting.

As you get more involved in local projects, or even local politics, you’ll be stumped by incompetence. You’ll be frustrated by leaders who cling to a status quo that’s not working. You’ll encounter elected officials who say, “That’s not my problem,” but won’t say, “Let me look into it.” You’ll wonder how important conflicts of interest, like whether real estate agents are allowed on planning boards, are overlooked.

But you’ll also meet the unsung heroes of a democracy: the hydrologist at your state’s Department of Environmental Protection who patiently explains how pollution standards are enforced; the county attorney who helps you phrase questions on a Freedom of Information Act form to elicit the answers you’re looking for. These people will help focus your efforts and increase your agency to make change. They’ll also deepen your appreciation for the continuity of public servants and institutional knowledge.

But the best thing may be an experience that softens the so-called partisan divide, the “us versus them” mentality that has so alienated people. Issues that appear deep red or deep blue at the national level aren’t always so clear-cut at the local level. Solar farms, for example, are a big success in red areas but blocked in blue ones. The neighbor who thinks federal agencies shouldn’t interfere in his or her affairs may have a vested interest in protecting the local trout stream and become a fervent ally. Working together on shared values ​​is not just strategic, it’s comforting in these divisive times.

After all, what happens in federal politics ripples down the aisle. There are many things the current judiciary leaves to state and local governments to decide. So now is your chance. Vote down the aisle in November. And hold those officials down the aisle accountable. For what they did, who they appointed, and how they improved your community and your future.