POLITICAL CAPITAL In Neighborhoods & Communities

1. POLITICAL CAPITALIn Neighborhoods & Communities Chapter 5 Flora, Flora and Fey

2. Betting Lines The race is not always to the swift, or the battle to the strong, but that is the way to bet. Damon Runyon Never attribute to malicethat which can beadequately explainedby stupidity Nick Diamos

3. Why Discuss This as Planners or Design/Builders? • It is neither wise nor practical to work with a community, either at the macro or micro scale, unless you know • Who runs things • Who you can work with; who you should avoid • What pushes this community’s button • Where decisions are make • When do things happen RULE # 1 – Never, never let them see you sweat

4. Top Ten Dumbest Political Quotes of the Year I think that gay marriage should be between a man and a woman." —Arnold Schwarzenegger, during the California recall campaign

5. The Golden Rule Its all about politics: Ideas are great arrows, but there has to be a bow. And politics is the bow of idealism. Bill Moyers To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right. Confucius The Democrats seem to be basically nicer people, but they have demonstrated time and again that they have the management skills of celery. They're the kind of people who'd stop to help you change a flat, but would somehow manage to set your car on fire. I would be reluctant to entrust them with a Cuisinart, let alone the economy. The Republicans, on the other hand, would know how to fix your tire, but they wouldn't bother to stop because they'd want to be on time for Ugly Pants Night at the country club. Dave Berry

6. Basic Definitions Political/Politics • The art of the possible • The process of who gets what, where and when Political Capital • Organization, connections, voice & power • The ability of a group to influence the allocation of resources and benefits with the community

7. Powerspeak – The language of local politics • All politics is local • Follow the money • Just ask who benefits • The two faces of power • Dance with the one the brought you (power is not born – it is created) • The stink of power lingers long after the title is extinguished

8. The Voice of Power

9. Models of Community Power • Sectorial or Methods Models • Those in official positions in each sector of the community have predominant influence or power • People throughout the community are well aware of who has power • Power is transferred from persons to person over the years with different elections and circumstances

10. Community Power Models • Elitist or Reputation Models • A small, close knit group of individuals has power and they agree on major issues • They hang together against opposition & change • There main source of power is in being able to influence decision makers and create a status quo • Their characteristics are diverse and do not necessarily represent any one social or economic class – (however, that is not the way to bet). • They can impose extreme sanctions on reformists

11. Community Power Models • The Pluralists • Life is hell and people grab power because they get in line first and use their characteristics to demand allegiance • They disagree on major issues and must build coalitions • Coalitions change frequently • People perceive that a great many are involved in community decision making • Some people have more/different skills and are more effective than others in some areas

12. Community Power Models • The Growth Machine • There is a close knit group of people – bankers, owners, merchants, developers, realtors, insurance who influence community decision making; in short, those that receive their main income from property • They have different politics, but they are close knit when it comes to the creation of wealth • They are the chief supporters for initiatives for town growth; they are what we call the stakeholders • In some cases they can be restrained from making some decisions if they perceive highly negative public reaction

13. The Models Growth Machine ELITIST MODEL Pluralist Model Sectors

14. Overview of One Model • C Wright Mills – “The Power Elite” • The Power Elite is a coalition of government officials, business executives, military leaders, industrialists, and very wealthy that run the system • The Atlanta reputation method Social and class stratification

15. Counter Theory • Polyarchy (not Oligarchy) • Robert Dahl and others disdain the elite models • Power holders are fluid and contentious • Battles between social conservatives, moderates, liberals, environmentalists, and traditionalist • Is this system, the mediators and bridgers gain a great deal of power

16. Another Counter Theory • Local Politics – You Can Crash As Fast As You Rise • Those that do not take ownership in a community are powerless • Democracy assures that a people get what they deserve • The more you have at stake, the more you want to influence control over others – who backed the American Revolution? • Power is not always to the wealthy, well educated, the best looking, and the most socially successful; power is often to the ugly, the crass, the bully, the prophet and those that have “found Jesus’

17. Power Is Not Always To the Wealthy and Good Looking

18. Where Does This Leave the Small Town/City? • Political style and model is highly size and place dependent; political capital, like financial capital, is a cumulative resource • In the typical local town, power is exercised in the form of “slack” • Slack is a form of opportunity that occurs when two or more groups in contention for policy cancel each other out and allow the less-likely to operator in the power vacuum – or when no one wants to float that particular boat • Classically, small town power is a clash between a growth machine and an anti-growth collation

19. Issues in the Clash • Keeping wages low • No growth versus growth economy • No tax or spending increases • Town beautification • Local regulations • Economic development And the battle over whether or not to allow aliens safe haven in the community

20. The General Conclusion We do not vote for the people who actually run our communities

21. Parting Shots George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the United States. He was appointed by God." —Lt. Gen. William Boykin, the defense undersecretary in charge of hunting down top terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan "Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know." —Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "My vision is to make the most diverse state on earth, and we have people from every planet on the earth in this state. We have the sons and daughters of every, of people from every planet, of every country on earth." —Former California Gov. Gray Davis, during the recall campaign

22. Simple Local Politics