Urgent Guest Column
I read in a sister Madison newspaper about Chuck Litweiler’s (former Madison City of Council candidate) proposal that the Council install a link on their Web site to allow Madison residents to vote on current issues before the City Council. Litweiler presented what I think would give a perfect antidote to our stale and sagging civic body
His very simple and elegant proposal is realistic and would cost taxpayers essentially nothing---the City of Madison would put a link on its web site, and the Madison media would do the rest. On this link voters could cast their votes on current citywide issues before they are ever put to a vote at Madison City Council. This proposal is the perfect elixir for the current malaise in Madison’s body politic.
Short of public finance campaign reform, this is the best idea that I have ever heard to revitalize our democracy. Who knows it may also be just the spark that we need to achieve public finance reform as well!
When Madison’s near Westside prophet, Matthew Fox, was recently in town, he told Madisonians that all they needed to do to end our apathy and bring change about was to recognize that our greatest disorder right now is IDD --- Imagination/Deficit/Disorder. It’s now clear that Litweiler has no such disorder. I urge the people of Madison to call their city council person right now, and enthusiastically demand that this web site link be installed today! Brother Fox also said, “Let us thunder and be defiant after justice.”
