Do you approve of your local/city government?

[NDN]

Tacoma has a notorious problem with institutional corruption.  The council isn't so awful.  The school board is, mostly.

I forgot about the school board, they suck nuts as they personally screwed me

Yeah, ours was also pretty awful. They got funding increase after funding increase, and none of it was spent on anything other than cosmetic improvements and a $1 million dollar bridge between buildings as part of an idiotic 'open campus' proposal (without handicap access or a roof!). These people couldn't manage a budget if their lives depended on it. Thankfully, my town finally voted to deny them any more money to waste a year ago.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Our school board is alright.  Evangelical Christians have tried really hard to get into it and stir up controversy, but they have been unsuccessful.

The big controversies in the past year regarding the school board was its rejection to ban the reading of a book that described a girl getting raped after a local mother protested.  The book was being read by 9th grade english students.  The school board agreed to notify parents ahead of time that the book was controversial and that an alternative assignment was available if they objected.

The other was the suspension of a teacher who jokingly held a knife to a student's chest while cutting a cake in a classroom celebration.  Both the student and the teacher were both laughing hysterically when it happened, but word got out and people took it very seriously.

Otherwise things are pretty mundane with our school board.

[minionofmidas]

The other was the suspension of a teacher who jokingly held a knife to a student's chest while cutting a cake in a classroom celebration.  Both the student and the teacher were both laughing hysterically when it happened, but word got out and people took it very seriously.

[JohnnyLongtorso]

The Virginia Beach City Council never met a developer it didn't like.

[Хahar 🤔]

The big controversies in the past year regarding the school board was its rejection to ban the reading of a book that described a girl getting raped after a local mother protested.  The book was being read by 9th grade english students.  The school board agreed to notify parents ahead of time that the book was controversial and that an alternative assignment was available if they objected.

If it's the book I think it is, then that's pretty stupid. I read it when I was 8.

[Torie]

My local government is invisible, so it must be doing a good job. The local police have nothing to do however, so their skills are kind of rusty.

[Хahar 🤔]

My local government is invisible, so it must be doing a good job. The local police have nothing to do however, so their skills are kind of rusty.

Where do you live?

[Torie]

Laguna Niguel. How many names of city council persons can I name? None.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Tacoma has a notorious problem with institutional corruption.  The council isn't so awful.  The school board is, mostly.

I forgot about the school board, they suck nuts as they personally screwed me

Yeah, ours was also pretty awful. They got funding increase after funding increase, and none of it was spent on anything other than cosmetic improvements and a $1 million dollar bridge between buildings as part of an idiotic 'open campus' proposal (without handicap access or a roof!). These people couldn't manage a budget if their lives depended on it. Thankfully, my town finally voted to deny them any more money to waste a year ago.

That's not really my school board's problem, their's is that they cannot think, they can only read what is on a piece of paper and regurgitate it

[Хahar 🤔]

Laguna Niguel. How many names of city council persons can I name? None.

Most cities in California are of that nature.

[Hash]

How many names of city council persons can I name? None.

I only know the name of my city councillor.

[MaxQue]

I approve my mayor and the town council. I would only like that were some debate to the town council. My city has 35.000 inhabitants but all the decisions are taken with unanimity. I haven't heard of my councillor since her election in 2006. But she is not boring old man, she is 30-ish woman. She is hidden behind the 22 year old councillor.

Where do you live? Suburban Montreal?

No. Val-d'Or, in northwest Quebec.

[??????????]

Our mayor is unelected. Disapprove of the city council due to being jackasses, not enforcing codes and having black racists on it.

I approve of the county govt for being tough on crime and making the few liberals in Tampa pull their hair out.

[minionofmidas]

Our mayor is unelected.

?

[minionofmidas]

The big controversies in the past year regarding the school board was its rejection to ban the reading of a book that described a girl getting raped after a local mother protested.  The book was being read by 9th grade english students.  The school board agreed to notify parents ahead of time that the book was controversial and that an alternative assignment was available if they objected.

If it's the book I think it is, then that's pretty stupid. I read it when I was 8.

What book do you think this is?

[Plant City Rebel]

No, for the most part the city government is filled with the same old same old.  Projects that have no practical application get the go ahead, while others that are needed, are discontinued.  It gets aggravating. 

There is no public transportation system, but the city is building a two story platform for train buffs to come watch the trains that come through the city.   The library is expanding, but they are tearing down an active recreation area to do so. 

So, no, right now I don't approve of the city government.

[Lunar]

NO NO NO NO NO

I have one of the worst city governments in the United States: Berkeley, CA.  Where they spend millions of dollars threatening the marine recruiting station, suing the University of California over some trees, creating declarations about BP, and declaring the Iraq War to be unjust while the roads fall apart, crack dealing occurs openly on the streets, homelessness is the highest in the country and murders/muggings are not uncommon. 

Seriously, if you go to a city council meeting it is usually about whether or not to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars more to sue the university more about some trees with Code Pink/hippies shouting "coward" at the city councilmembers if they ever decide against their wishes.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Our mayor is unelected.

?

Most likely the mayor is elected, just not by the people.  I know a lot of town's in NJ elect a council and then the council elects a mayor, similar to the parlimentary system

[Plant City Rebel]

Our Mayor is appointed from a pool of City Commissioners.  The current Mayor's term is up next year, I am honestly dreading the choice of the next mayor.  The choices are not the greatest.  On a high note, I highly doubt one of the commissioners will be reelected based on some of her stances and behavior over the past year.

[Хahar 🤔]

The big controversies in the past year regarding the school board was its rejection to ban the reading of a book that described a girl getting raped after a local mother protested.  The book was being read by 9th grade english students.  The school board agreed to notify parents ahead of time that the book was controversial and that an alternative assignment was available if they objected.

If it's the book I think it is, then that's pretty stupid. I read it when I was 8.

What book do you think this is?

Julie of the Wolves. I estimate I read over half of the Newbery winners in elementary school, and that was one of them.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I broadly approve of Bangor City Council; it's not got enough powers to mess up badly (sadly; it should do. "Local" government in this country is a joke) and, you know, a little civic pride and all that is a good thing and involves giving such bodies the benefit of the doubt.

The Mayor basically does ceremonial stuff. I don't think he's managed to mess that up, so broadly approve.

I also broadly approve of both of my City Councillors, in that role at least.

I don't know enough about what my County Councillor gets up to, to know whether I approve or not.

I certainly do not approve of the County Council. Bunch of bastards. They've improved somewhat since they lost their majority (and their vile egomaniac leader lost his seat) on the council (and entirely because they managed to utterly outrage sections of their base) earlier this year. Which is something.

[GMantis]

Most certainly not, but the way it's going it will soon become our national government.

[Hatman 🍁]

I strongly disapprove of the Mayor of Ottawa, who's incompetent and corrupt. His entire term has been a failure. Like your typical Harper Conservative (YEAGH CULTURZ SUCKZ. GO COWBOYS!), he talked about cutting funding for libraries.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Don't blame me, I voted Munter!
I support my city councillor though, she's a good NDPer

[minionofmidas]

Our mayor is unelected.

?

Most likely the mayor is elected, just not by the people.  I know a lot of town's in NJ elect a council and then the council elects a mayor, similar to the parlimentary system

Okay. Thought that might be what he meant.