It’s a chilly October in Whitewater, Wisconsin, but the political climate has never been milder. That must seem odd, in a time of economic hardship with rising unemployment. There’s a gap, though, between the condition of ordinary residents and their interest in the plans and schemes from our municipal building.
The political climate in the city has never been more compliant, complacent, almost somnolent. There has never been a better time for the municipal administration to do whatever it wants.
On the Common Council, there are two votes assured – in the end – to accept any proposal the city administration offers. Of the remaining five, two members will either not follow or grasp the issues very well. Find just two more out of that five, and anything’s approved. Anything.
I’m sure you’ll hear how dire is the political situation, how high are the stakes. Not at all – it’s the economic situation that’s dire, not the political stakes in Whitewater.
Compared with past councils, our current group is as quiet as any in memory.
Part of this is likely because hard times have left many residents weary and worn with personal matters.
There’s more, though, than that. We live breathing the perfumed atmosphere of non-stop cheerleading, where everything is the best, the greatest, the most extraordinary. Bureaucrats at 312 W. Whitewater Street are quite sure that we’re one tech park away from perfection.
It makes sense that thousands of people in Whitewater would have less interest in local politics than ever before; sensible people shy away from the ridiculous and self-deluded.
We suffer from high unemployment, widespread and above-average poverty, and live in a community with large numbers in distress.
Mark this: no big-budget building project from our municipal administration will reduce poverty in the city. Brunner could build twice as much, and it would make no difference.
The problem is not that the city schemes and spends and regulates too little; it is that it schemes and spends and regulates too much.
Any politician walking around the city bemoaning the hard choices we face is right; any politician walking around bemoaning the hard choices he faces should be thankful for a weary and discouraged electorate.
There’s never be an easier time to pass anything, anything at all.