Small Town Politics

About five years ago, I read Myron Orfield’s Metropolitics: The New Suburban Reality.

In it, Mr. Orfield, a sociologist, speaks to the browning of America’s suburbs. In the Chicagoland area especially, the last fifteen years has seen many people of color leave the city’s borders to settle in outlying areas.

I have written on this before. I am not going to address the nutjobs who feel that somehow, leaving crumbling neighborhoods in Chicago is tantamount to racial and cultural treason. The mistaken theory is that as working and middle class Blacks move out, working and middle class whites reclaim the areas they once fled. So far, the existence of Naperville, Oak Brook, Mantino and Darien escapes these folks’ notice. Also, per Orfield’s research, more and more of these displaced suburban Caucasians can no longer afford city living, and just find themselves moving even further out to areas known as exurbs.

Personally, I kind of like the idea that folk who did their time on Massa Daley’s plantation have an opportunity to self govern. The potential in some of Chicago south and West suburbs is there for people of color to establish communities with officers, agendas and curriculums that work best for them. Furthermore, if some Black folk can lose the “I’m rich cuz I live in the burbs” mentality and put as much time into their governments as they do their houses, cars and frontin’, they could see how accountable they are for their own existence.

I see a level of political involvement in these small towns that I don’t see in Chicago. In the city, I see the monied Black folk go about their business, knowing they can slide their kids into the best city schools and live in their private enclaves secure from the ghettoes around them. The police chief is their neighbor. The fire commissioner does a neighborhood barbecue yearly.

They don’t call WVON to complain. The city works for them.

The working class stiffs down the street? Their terrible schools and unsafe neighborhoods are their problems. If they don't like it, they can move. To the suburbs. Some small metropolis with three schools to its entire district and yearly fairs.

My best friend is a practicing attorney and local politician in one of these small towns.

When he ran for his village council a couple years back, he asked yours truly to run his campaign. I think we were both inebriated at the time, so I said, “Yes.”

What an eye opening experience. These everyday folk were actively involved in the political process. I kind of figured we could win using Chicago tactics, but our leg breakers got unionized, and we couldn’t afford them. The bank froze our bribery fund. Twice. A Chicago politician, looking to expand his powerbase south, funded some dirty tricks for the other side, but the voters saw through them. They kinda got angry at Career Politician Dude, and he hasn’t been seen out south since.

We weren’t bold enough to outright lie to the voters. I think some of them came to the town hall meetings armed.

Having put in a couple of good years, my buddy called the other day, contemplating a run for village president, the next step up.

“I think my chances are good.”

“Really? What have you done?”

“You know what I’ve done. I pushed for the new village center. Which will bring jobs. I am on the finance commission, and I voted against the last two budgets…”

“They passed…”

“Not my fault…”

“You were there…”

“Look…people like me. They seem impressed with me…”

“That may fly in the city, but it won’t work out here.”

“No. People like me…”

“Remember what I told you last time? There is a difference between getting elected and governing. Governing is all of that stuff you just mentioned. Infrastructure. Jobs. Budgets. Governing is a process that takes into consideration the long term, and in truth, it is hard for most to stomach. You don’t make many friends with the people governing, because people want something that works now. They want quick fixes.

“Getting elected is a popularity contest. People elect you based on if they like your suit, or the way you speak. Say the right things. Remember when Lois ran for mayor of Quahog? She didn’t start winning 'til she started feeding folk some feel good now juice and fear food."

“I remember that talk. I thought it was the Jack talking…”

“Fine. What you gonna do about the water? It’s been day-glo orange for the last two years.”

“Huh?”

“We gonna do something about these high ass property taxes?”

“Now, wait, that’s…”

“Ain’t enough jobs here. Other towns got jobs. Can you bring us some jobs?”

“Sure…”

“TOMORROW?”

“That’s a process…”

“We want more Black history in the schools. You been to the school districts to show the kids what they can make of themselves?”

“Well…”

“I mean, we could live in Chicago and have a bunch of siditty Negroes count on our votes but never try to inspire our kids. You don’t like kids or something?”

“No, it’s not that…”

"I thought you liked kids. You were dating Ms. Boswell's daughter...she got kids...You too good or something?"

"There's a process to that...we can get a committee..."

"You on governing talk, Bruh. We trying to get elected...What about the village country club? That sucker loses money…”

“I voted against its budget…”

“It’s still open! Do you eat there?”

Silence.

“I forgot. As a village official, you get an account there…man. This ain’t Chicago. For your sake, I sho’ hope you haven’t been using your village account for the weekly seafood grills they have at a place whose budget you didn’t vote for. Didn't you just buy me a drink there two weeks back? On your account?"

"Whatever. What else?"

“Programs for kids?”

“We got ‘em…”

“Can we get more?”

“Maaaannnnnn…”

"Didn't you vote against new fire trucks?"

"We couldn't afford 'em."

'So now you like fire or something? You got a real estate development business, waiting to burn us all out?"

"No, the trucks still got life in them..."

"What you say you gon do about the water again? My kids think we got unsweetened Kool-Aid coming out the faucet."

"We're working on it..."

"Don't ya'll have BOTTLED WATER at Village Square?"

"But..."

“See? These are questions that are gonna get asked, and you don’t have the luxury of giving some doubletalk and fading into the background. This isn't 'Let me get back to you while we trash the opponent.' This isn’t the big city. All of your business is on Front Street. Nobody cares about your ex wife or who you play golf with…can you do what you are supposed to once you get in office?”

“Geez…”

“Called accountability.”

“I know. Sounds like a lot of work. Perhaps I’ll move back to the city and run. Check the schedule. Anybody in the council down there getting indicted soon?”

“Naw, but the old governor is going to jail.”

“OK. Yeah, that’s a nice, no accountability position here in Illinois. I’ll take it. Small town politics is too much work”