Why Local Politics Matter: Especially Now.

by Keaton Ibendahl

It’s no secret that the U.S. is going through a few national situations right now. There are massive ongoing Black Lives Matter protests, the scale of which have been unseen in decades; an eviction crisis; the beginnings of a recession; and of course, an unhinged pandemic, which is worsening daily with only a handful of states on track to actually contain the spread. These are all national issues. For national issues, it might seem that the best response is to look to national leaders for guidance— but right now, that’s not the case. Most of these issues are dependent on local politics, but most people are entrenched in the national news cycle— instead, it’s time to focus in, think about, and use the role of local politics to execute social goals. 

The divide between the perception of national politics and local politics is massive. Many, although not all, mainly form their political ideologies around national figures and policies; they are universal throughout the country, so perhaps that’s easy to identify with on a broad scale. However, when it comes to the day to day— especially in a health and social crisis— what is happening in local politics is often more important. For example, up until a few days ago, President Trump did not support wearing masks in public to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Many local forms of government— city, county, and state levels— have either encouraged their constituents to wear masks or have made them mandatory(some as early as March in New York, although this is becoming more widespread within the past few days). Those that are vocal about their refusal to wear masks often cite political reasons, going back to Pres. Trump or their alignment with a national party— what they are missing when they choose to focus on national politics is the reporting, ordinances, and programs put out by their local officials and journalists. What broadcasts nationwide when it comes to politics as of late shows a failure of leadership that breeds misinformation and ignorance about the health and social crises; instead, we should really be looking to local reporting and leadership. 

While national policies are important, you can often enact more change by focusing on what’s going on locally. For example, Pres. Trump signed an executive order banning chokeholds in response to the BLM protests; however, it only had the power to ban them on a federal level. Instead of barring your city’s police officer from using them, it barred people who work in agencies like the FBI from using them. Many things associated with BLM will need to be changed at a local level— and there’s a lot that you can do to make that change. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution for police brutality across the United States. That solution will come from the people within the communities themselves. The same goes for COVID-19. When national reporting and leadership fails to keep the public safe, local journalists and government take that role, but not enough people are listening. 

The question that’s left at the end of all this is what we can do to make meaningful change in our communities. Thankfully, the answer is more than you think. Of course, keep posting on social media, educating yourself, and showing up to protest in whatever way you can, but the work has to go beyond that. One thing that is often overlooked is the support for local reporting— and due to the pandemic, local newspapers are struggling. If you can find a way to support your local paper— subscribing, reading, posting the articles on social media— it can do a lot to ensure that people get relevant news and information. When it comes to political change, in most states you can register to vote when you are seventeen or seventeen and a half. If your state’s primary has yet to happen and you are old enough to register, you might even be eligible to vote in the primary. When it comes to voting, it’s also important to look into it on a local scale. Find out who your Alderperson, City Council Members, Congressperson, and Senators are, or who’s running for them— and then write to them about the issues that you care about. The power in our government comes from the people, no matter if you can vote or not— there can be lasting, national change that comes from this moment, but only if we start within our own communities.