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Dr. Jerry Adams for Mayor
| Democracy Does Not Start With the Vote Funding Our problem goes deeper than a loss of trust in our local government. Candidates should not allow corporations and other special interests to buy influence. We need to ensure that funding for local politics is grassroots so the mayor is obligated to serve the common good and is not compromised by obligations to specific contributors. Voters, therefore, need to take the extra effort to look at the pattern of funding for candidates for office. Funding should be an important consideration when we vote. Is the candidate obligated to serve us all or only a few? Jerry's company assembled Web resources on corporate power in government for your consideration. A good candidate, on the other hand, sees government as a conversation between a representative and his or her constituents. A good candidate will model leadership development for our youth so they will participate in government. Leadership Where are our leaders? Why don't we always have highly qualified, inspired leaders? How do we develop and empower a new generation of leaders in government and business? This will not happen by chance. Jerry's company assembled Web resources for aspiring youth leaders for their consideration. Democracy does not start with the vote: the best and brightest have not simply come forward to lead. Too often, those who want power the most are the ones who come forward instead. If we want the wisest and most able to lead, we need to change things. We need to improve the way we nourish leadership in children and young adults. We need to give them more opportunities for leadership and participation in the political process. We need to help them into positions of leadership. This means starting in public schools with programs that support a new generation of leaders. It also means helping children understand how propaganda works. Children need to be "inoculated" with knowledge to help them become intelligent consumers of politics. It means helping all of us become more informed and skillful consumers of political campaigns. We all need to be protected from interests with big budgets and selfish intentions that conflict with the common good. If we are not careful, even at a local level, mass media can buy a great deal of control of votes. Jerry's company assembled Web resources on the role of media in a democracy for your consideration. |
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