Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

I was wondering when the first call about this would come in. And when it did happen, basically things were like I expected. Across the border in neighboring Prince Edward, as soon as tax bills started going out, people started calling our sister paper The Herald, wanting to know what was going on. And as regional editor for both, I fielded several of those calls. How could we let this happen, they asked. Why is it happening now? Why weren’t we stopping it from happening? My personal favorite was the last question. Why didn’t you tell us about this? And to that I replied each time that we did.

Now I bring this up here in Charlotte County because I feel like the main point is also applicable here. In most cases after I pointed out our sister paper had reported on the tax bills, I got the same response. “Oh,” they said, “well, I don’t really pay attention to local politics anyway. Most of the time, it doesn’t matter.”

If there’s one thing I can get across, it’s that local government does matter. In fact, I’d argue it has more impact on your day to day life than any of your favorite politicians at the state or federal level. Over in Prince Edward, they were impacted by the county’s decision to hold a revaluation this year, just as they were impacted by the increase in property values. That’s true for every county. It’s also true about decisions like bringing in solar or what different portions of land will be used for. Local government makes all of these decisions. And yet, it’s rare to see more than two dozen people get actively interested or engaged in any meaningful discussions about local elections, a local board’s decisions or about the future of the county in general.

The same goes for local elections. If the vote isn’t held the same year as a presidential or governor’s race, you’re lucky to pull 10% to 20% of residents to cast a ballot.

GET FOCUSED

Why is that? Why do people talk all day and night about something on the national scene, but when it comes to a local vote, something that will change things in their town or county, you often hear radio silence from the majority?

For some, it’s because they believe the next president, whoever that may be, will just drop in and solve everything with an executive order. I raise this point because I have heard it several times, about the governor as well. “Oh, well this won’t stand anyway. After the election, the president will make this go away.” Really? Name one time in all of our history where a president of the United States or a Virginia governor stepped into a situation and overruled the decisions made on a local level.

Nope, we all know that’s not going to happen, regardless of who wins the presidential or even congressional races. The General Assembly isn’t going to step in, either.

My point here is twofold. First, local government matters. It’s worth taking a look to see what’s being debated or discussed, as well as what’s being voted on. Second, once you do know what’s happening, it does no good to sit and just complain about it. Get involved, get people to cast ballots and vote. Maybe run for office yourself to get something done.

Brian Carlton is the editor for The Charlotte Gazette and Farmville Newsmedia LLC. He can be reached at Brian.Carlton@TheCharlotteGazette.com.