Over my life I’ve operated in some pretty tough situations, but none quite as tough as the political arena I’ve recently entered. This field puts organized crime to shame with the amount of underhanded double-dealing that transpires on a seemingly regular basis.
Operatives for candidates engage in skullduggery on what appears to be a regular basis, throwing rocks at other candidates while trying to hide their hands. No wonder some folks are completely turned off by the political process.
And since I declared my candidacy for the 7th Ward City Council seat I must have contracted some kind of contagious, dangerous disease, one that can be contracted via phone or email. No one calls me back anymore. It’s like I’ve become a leper, a pariah, an outcast. I guess people are just afraid that I’m going to hit them up for a campaign contribution — and they may be right.
Now I don’t mind being turned down, unless it’s by one of the many people that complained to me incessantly about the current leadership, and in the next breath encouraged me to run. Well, guess what? I’m running; but in order for me to win I’m going to need some support — something more than just well wishes.
Years ago I studied to be a thespian, and the first lesson I learned was that the one who could best deal with rejection, who could take it on the chin and keep coming back again and again — that’s the person who ultimately prevails. That’s me.
The simple fact is, I’ve got too much skin in the game to quit; I’m all in. My home, my heart and my business are all in Hough, so I have to step up to save my community. It’s not a choice — it’s a crusade, a calling. But I do have a choice in how I go about conducting my campaign. While I might write some hard-hitting articles that expose some of my opponents’ foibles, I promise they all will be truthful — and my name will be on every one of them.
Direct Democracy
One of the first things on my agenda once I assume office (I’m pretty cocky for a political neophyte, right?) will be to attempt to get some local or national foundation or other organization to use the 7th Ward as a test community to try out true direct democracy — something that will scare the shit out of a lot of politicians.
The technology (and security) exists for the electorate to vote on any issue from the comfort of their own home via telephone. Here’s how it would work:
Take, for instance, an issue like the funding of the rebuilding of the “Q,” with people coming down on both sides — to fund or not to fund. The vote could be opened up on Friday and concluded by Sunday. All of those in favor of the deal would call one number; all of those who are opposed would call another.
Now, before anyone starts coming up with all of reasons why it can’t or won’t work, or how someone could cheat, please take a deep breath and then go take a class in basic computer science. The technology is one hundred percent foolproof. Even the Russians couldn’t rig the system … not that they would want to.
The only thing that prevents such an exercise in true democracy already is the lack of will on the part of the politicians who run the system. I want to change all that, that’s part of why I’m running.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author at http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.