Some of the Federalists who helped found this country believed that the nation should be ruled by the rich white men who owned it. That makes a kind of sense, of course, and it helps explain why our local newspaper has endorsed a new plan for voter districts. The plan was put forward by the Chamber of Commerce, dominated by rich white businessmen, and by the Sonoma Alliance, dominated by even richer white businessmen. They own Sonoma Country, in a way, and they own the newspaper, The Corporate Democrat.
The City, until now, has elected its council members at large. This means that council members have nearly always come from one corner of the city, the ghetto where giant mansions face each other across broad avenues. Poor people and people of color can pound sand, as far as representation is concerned. (That’s in theory—in actuality some decent people win council seats at times.)
Frightened by a lawsuit, the city council now intends to divide itself into discrete districts. There might even be districts made up of ordinary voters, but who gets to shape them?
As I mentioned, the newspaper has strongly endorsed a proposal from the Super Rich, one in which no current incumbent will have to run against another. Is that a sweet deal or what? Who doesn’t like to see loyalty rewarded? I’d hate to stir up competition, maybe. I remember the first law of American capitalism: competition reduces profits.
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