During the last few election cycles there has been a terrific amount of talk and analysis at the state and national level. Much of that analysis focuses on labels ... Red vs. Blue ... Conservative vs. Liberal ... Republican vs. Democrat.
A few thoughts, and obviously a debate for those that disagree:
- Porter County is predominantly conservative. Many of our residents left Chicago or Lake County Indiana to get away from government largess and hyper taxation. The fraud and outright criminality of those former hometowns haunts many a local resident still.
- Porter County residents are not extremely political. Where other regions may feature citizens actively engaged in party fighting, Porter County tends to feature moderate approaches and the political parties working together. I can remember being asked why Valparaiso wasn't fighting harder to get the Bass Pro Shops location ... and Mayor Costas calmly saying something about not wanting to derail a good project in Portage by stepping in and messing things up.
- Porter County features lower property taxes than Lake County, but the tax caps passed two years ago will bring everyone to about the same level. Porter County did not have to cut as much from spending though since they were a lot closer.
I have a theory: Although most of us are conservative, the rural residents of Porter County have very different positions on a vision for this county than do the municipal citizens. For further research see Disciples of No from rural resident Bob Wichlinski and A Man for No Seasons from Valpo Mayor Costas. Frankly the D.O.N of Porter County (Commissioner Harper) has run this county for 6 years and has an iron grip on fear. The fear of change, the fear of progress, the fear of growth leading to "them people." This fear plays well in a county where many residents moved from such political messes as Cook County Illinois.
If the cities of Portage and Valparaiso vote in the next couple months to retain the Regional Development Authority, to continue to collecting the tax which invests in the RDA $3.5 million a year but also reduces our property taxes, and overrules the county council ... we will see in glaring lights the problem and the opportunity. I applaud both Mayors for standing up for a great opportunity in the RDA, knowing full well that many outside the cities and towns disagree, but also knowing that they rely almost entirely on those same cities and towns for their economic well being.
The theory of "balance of powers" in the American experiment has been a constant tension for the last 230 years. When we don't like what the President does, we hope for the Congress to overule him. When we don't like what the Congress does we hope for the states to stand up to them. When bad laws get passed, we hope for the Supreme Court to strike them down. There is no shame in this tension, it is what makes our nation great.
Keep debating though, don't let anyone tell you to "hush" these are the debates that make us great. Happy Independence Day Porter County!
