Some of my friends are interning in Washington D.C. this summer. They are working for congressmen, senators, various departments and lobbying firms. They were called to make the voyage half-way across the nation in hopes of impacting public policy in some substantive way. Perhaps they have. They ask me what I am doing and I launch into stories of protesters to blog entries, budgets to geese, finite details to impact reports, they just roll their eyes. As I prepare to conclude my summer on the Prairie as Scott Neal’s intern, it behooves me to at least say a few words about my experience. You see, things have been interesting to say the least.
“Not in my backyard” or “NIMBY” is a popular term I have spent a great deal of time learning about. It describes a feeling people have about a policy that would derogate their life in some way. I think it is a sense of disdain towards government employees who aren’t supposed to care about the people they are affecting. But things have been different around here. I have worked with residents over the course of the summer and listened to countless conversations with city staff about how to best limit the negative externalities on the lives of residents in Eden Prairie. It is evident that active stewardship is very alive among the staff. I think it is something that my friends in D.C. miss out on because they don’t see their constituents in the grocery store or in church on Sunday morning.
That is what makes local government so exciting. It epitomizes accountability. While it may be easy to pass an omnibus tax bill or cut a department hundreds of miles away from your constituency, it is much more challenging to raise taxes or lower services in a community in which you know your neighbor. The debate which follows policy proposals is had out in backyards, coffee shops and at athletic games. The impacts of each governmental decision are very real. Groups organize and dissolve and the factions James Madison spoke of flourish. Each community becomes an incubator of this whole notion of a democratic republic.
Local government seems to require a careful hand and a tendency towards a nuanced policy making position. The “good life” isn’t as definable as a black and white response which we have all become accustomed to. I have liked that part and what it has meant for Eden Prairie during my time here. It has been great to be mentored by a professional staff that has consistently worked to improve the community. This summer has shown me that local government is the place where the action happens-it isn’t in D.C. I am thankful that Scott Neal, City Staff and the City Council were willing to give me a chance.
