Author: Ashley Trim

Out of all the election-related direct mailers I’ve received these past few months none was more crucial than the one that arrived the afternoon of

Obscene salaries, conflicts of interest, lavish travel
expenses . . . I am still on the "Local" page of the paper, right?  I didn’t accidentally flip to
"International"? Nope.  This really is
about local government in California.  At
least other parts of the world have an excuse. 
They are still learning this whole democracy thing.  But California is the birthplace of
progressive democracy, the home state of sunshine laws.  How do these things happen here?

They happen because transparency only works if people are
looking. If the recent scandals teach us anything, it is the importance of
keeping our eyes open.  

The decision that led to scandal in the City of Bell may
have begun behind locked doors in some smoke filled room, but it was approved
by ballot.  The problem was that less one
percent of Bell’s residents voted on a measure to detach the city from state
restrictions on municipal compensation.  It was a decision that impacted every resident
of the city.  And it occurred, in large
part, because citizens were disengaged.