LETTER

A theme amongst some Wyoming Establishment politicians is their promotion of “Local Control.” It sounds good on the face of it. Thomas Jefferson thought that smaller, local governments governed best because they stayed close to the people. It also invokes the image of Norman Rockwell’s famous “Freedom of Speech” painting, in which he sought to capture the ideal of local civics in action after witnessing a dissenting citizen stand up and speak about school taxes at a town meeting.

This American ideal of everyday citizens engaged in political discourse as part of local governance is a powerful image. That is until we run up against the realities of government and its use of control. It began almost immediately after the Founding when elites and special interests were effectively controlling Washington. It then came to a head during Andrew Jackson’s Presidency in the early 1830s when he strongly took up the cause of the People. Frank Capra brought this dynamic to the silver screen in his classic movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” starring Jimmy Stewart.

Local and county governments across America are often not much different from Washington, D.C in this regard. Washington is effectively controlled by strongly entrenched politicos who are, by and large, unresponsive/under-responsive to the core needs and concerns of common citizens; except for their empty talk, unfulfilled promises and excuses, or sometimes when throwing us bones of secondary or tertiary importance. They have an insatiable appetite for tax revenue and spending. What should be strictly responsible governance is instead fiscal mismanagement that benefits donors, lobbyists, special interests, pet projects and their self-interests.

Does that remind you of any county or town? Perhaps, the only difference being in scope and/or degree? And what have you gotten from their control so far? Watch this YouTube video: PROP 1 - WYOMING BY THE NUMBERS IN POWELL, WY 10/22/26 which lays out the facts about government performance, funding, and spending at the County and State level in Wyoming. It is a truly stunning expose which contrasts sharply with what is pushed by Establishment politicians and special interests to mislead you.

Finally, top it all off with the visual disdain and dismissal some elected county officials havefor their own citizen neighbors who, like in Rockwell’s painting, speak up to discuss, challenge or dissent. For those of us who were alive and remember the 1960s, it is sadly reminiscent of the tightly controlled towns and counties in the then American Deep South.

Which brings us back to Jefferson. He also believed in divided authority, and he feared centralization. We need to beware of what lies behind seemingly innocuous calls for “Local Control,” and question who really benefits given the power realities of Wyoming politics. As George Washington is attributed as saying; “Government is not reason; it is not eloquence. It is force.” Never forget their word choice- “Control.” It exposes their intent: to control you to keep their gravy train rolling.

Jim Vetter - Cody WY