Whitewater has a local government that taxes and legislates, and that hires officials who exercise authority over the city’s residents, in a nine-square-mile area. Our local government has its own municipal building, in which it holds regular public meetings, and in which officials can talk to each other and residents in person, by email, text,…
Local Government
America, CDA, Common Council, Development, Economics, Economy, Free Markets, Local Government, Regulatory Capture, WEDC
Competition: Good for Individuals and Society
by JOHN ADAMS •
Pres. Biden plans measures to increase market competition. David Leonhardt reports Biden’s New Push (‘The U.S. economy suffers from a lack of competition. President Biden wants to change that’): The U.S. economy has been less dynamic in the 21st century, by many measures, than it was in the late 20th century. Fewer new businesses are starting.…
City, Local Government, Never Trump, Politics, School District, Trumpism, Whitewater's Local Politics 2021
Whither the Conservative Populists?
by JOHN ADAMS •
In places big and small, including Whitewater, there are three main types of conservatives: traditional, transactional, and populist. (Right-wing populist in our time is mostly a euphemism for Trumpist.) Of these types, only the right-wing populists are a dynamic movement. Traditional conservatives each day look more like large reptiles after a cataclysmic meteor strike, and…
America, Cycling, Federal Government, History, Holiday, Local Government
Juneteenth
by JOHN ADAMS •
Sometime later today, Pres. Biden will sign a bill, having passed overwhelminmgly in both the House and Senate, to make Juneteenth a national holiday. The House saw only 14 members opposed (one being Tom Tiffany, R-WI 7) and the Senate voted after Sen. Ron Johnson withdrew his opposition to a vote. Making Juneteenth a national…
Charity, City, Culture, Local Government, Newspapers, Police, Politics, Poverty
‘Communicate, Communicate, Communicate’ Isn’t So Easy in a Fractured Town
by JOHN ADAMS •
Some years ago, an administrator (no longer with the school district) told others that a good practice for leaders was to ‘communicate, communicate, communicate’ with the community. The concept makes sense: craft a message and then make sure it’s heard by repeating it. In a small town, how hard could that be? As it turns…
City, Local Government
Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 6.1.21: 6 Points
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Whitewater Common Council met last night, Tuesday, 6.1.21. Updated 6.3.21 with meeting video. The agenda for the meeting is available electronically. The council reviewed and approved, among other items, a draft audit of the city government’s finances, a settlement with a local bar that will permit the bar to continue operating, a contract with Bird…
Far-Right Populism, Local Government, Never Trump, Politics, School District, State Government, Trump, Trumpism
Conservative Populism Moves in One Direction Only
by JOHN ADAMS •
While there’s more than one kind of conservative Republican (traditionalist, transactionalist, or populist), it’s the populists who are the most numerous and most demanding. Over time, they’ve pushed other kinds of conservatives – even transactionalists who are behind-the-scenes manipulators – into subordinate positions. (See generally Whitewater’s Local Politics 2021.) These rightwing populists have outlasted Trump,…
City, Local Government
Whitewater Common Council Meeting, 4.20.21: 7 Points
by JOHN ADAMS •
? The Whitewater Common Council met on Tuesday, 4.20.21. The recording of the meeting is embedded above. The amended agenda for the meeting is available. A few remarks on selected items of the agenda — 1. Council Officers. Council re-elected unanimously Lynn Binnie as council president and Jim Allen as president pro tempore. (Video, 04:00.) 2.…
City, Culture, Education, Local Government, Politics, School District, University, Whitewater's Local Politics 2021
Whitewater’s Local Politics 2021: The Limits of Local Politics
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the final post in a series on Whitewater’s local politics of 2021. Earlier posts at FREE WHITEWATER have addressed the limits of local politics in the community: local public (or powerful private) institutions have a limited power of action (with harmful actions likely to be more immediate than helpful ones). It’s certain that a…
Babbittry, Bad Ideas, Blogging, Boosterism, City, Confidence Schemes, Coronavirus, Culture, Local Government, Mendacity, Politics, School District, Special Interests, Whitewater's Local Politics 2021
Whitewater’s Local Politics 2021: Marketing
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the ninth in a series on Whitewater’s local politics of 2021. Through all the difficult events of the last two decades (a Great Recession, an opioid epidemic, economic stagnation, creeping nativism, a pandemic, a pandemic recession), Old Whitewater has responded with the same question: how can we market the town to others? If…
Blogging, City, Coronavirus, Local Government, Politics, Whitewater's Local Politics 2021
Whitewater’s Local Politics 2021 — COVID-19: Skepticism and Rhetoric
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Local Government, Politics, Whitewater's Local Politics 2021
Whitewater’s Local Politics 2021: The Common Council
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the seventh in a series on Whitewater’s local politics of 2021. Whitewater has a seven-person person city council with an appointed city manager to run the daily affairs of the town. Two of the council seats are at-large, and the other five members are from aldermanic districts. While the city manager acts in…
City, Culture, Democrats, Local Government, Politics, School District, University, Whitewater's Local Politics 2021
Whitewater’s Local Politics 2021: The Subcultural City
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the sixth in a series on Whitewater’s local politics of 2021. There’s no politically predominant group in Whitewater. Strictly speaking, a subculture implies a dominant culture, but it’s less dramatic to describe Whitewater as several subcultures than as balkanized. One might call the city multicultural, but that term often implies an acceptance of…
City, Local Government, Politics, School District, University, Whitewater's Local Politics 2021
Whitewater’s Local Politics 2021: The Campus
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the fifth in a series on Whitewater’s local politics of 2021. Whitewater, Wisconsin is a small town where about half the residents are university students. Town-Gown conflicts here aren’t the most in all North America, but they’re not the least, either. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is beset with challenges apart from politics: long-term structural…