EDITOR:
One of the biggest reasons our local elections are important is because those are the people who most affect our everyday lives and pocketbooks: school boards and school levies, county officials and county taxes, city council members and city taxes, etc.
If our county officials are not being transparent or responsible with our tax money, then our taxes may go up while our home values go down. We saw this happen in Platte County with the Board of Equalization which is appointed by the county commissioners. They gave themselves a tax cut (some down to zero) while the rest of us now pay more to make up the difference.
Representation is another important reason to make your voice heard in local elections. When elected officials do not represent you or your community, then you do not have agency in what is happening to your money and community. For example, in 2024 Platte County voters passed an initiative to fund children’s mental health services. Yet our elected officials refused to accept the will of the people and voted to not collect the fund.
Protecting our rights is yet another reason. Most recently, Commissioner Scott Fricker has been threatening PCDCC and the Mid-Continent Library, arguing that the public should not be allowed to meet in the public library for information on how to de-escalate and protect ourselves and our community if ICE comes to our neighborhoods.
Fricker doesn’t seem to care about the welfare of the citizens he is supposed to represent. Nor does he care about our rights to free speech and assembly. Instead, his chief concern is his standing among his party’s elites.
This is all to say that yes, local elections matter more than most people realize.
Please, do not sit out an election. Our next municipal election is April 7. The winning candidates will be making important decisions about our community. What to do now:
Check your voter registration: www.sos.mo.gov
Learn what’s on the ballot on April 7 and support our Democratic candidates.
--Platte County
Democratic Women
