16,000 and 19,298: All politics is local

I spend a lot of time dealing with numbers. So it is only natural that the above two numbers jumped out at me. The first, 16,000, is the number of signatures presented to council yesterday by the Norfolk Tea Party II in their effort to convince council that the real estate tax rate should be decreased to $1.08 in ’08.

The second number – 19,298 – is the number of votes cast in this past May’s mayoral election. Those votes represent about 18% of the registered voters shown on this report as of May 2, 2006.

How many of those 16,000 signatures were included in the 19,298 that voted in May? Hard to say. But according to the article, most of the signatures were gathered on Election Day, which I presume means November 7. (I saw a number of them working the polls all over the city.) On that day, 49,487 votes were cast in the Senate race.

The NTP2 website has a chart showing how council has voted over the past couple of years on real estate taxes. The chart, though, is misleading, since for the two years shown, the council voted to reduce the rate, from $1.40 to $1.35 in 2005 and from $1.35 to $1.27 in 2006. However, even with the rate reduction, the real estate taxes paid actually increased because property values increased. So I guess you could say that the council voted to raise the real estate taxes. I don’t necessarily agree with that characterization, though.

In any event, at the top of the chart is: “Are they just another Tax and Spend Politician? Maybe it’s time for change.” On this, I wholeheartedly agree. Perhaps if those 16,000 people who were willing to sign the petition participated a little more in the process by supporting and voting for different candidates, we wouldn’t need the NTP2.

I’m glad that Norfolk turned out 49,4987 votes for the Senate race. I’d be thrilled to see a similar turnout for a local race. It is for this reason that my blog carries the subtitle “All Politics is Local.” Sorry, but a US Senator is not going to be able to reduce my real estate tax burden. Sorry, but a US Senator is not going to be able to reduce the fees that I pay for water, sewage, or trash disposal. Sorry, but a US Senator is not going to be able to tell me that I can have a home-based business in Virginia Beach but not Norfolk.

There are so many things that local elected officials control, but more folks pay attention to the statewide or national stuff than they do the local stuff. It’s all local, folks. And if we want better, then we have to get informed, get involved, and vote.