Let's get 'back to basics' with local leadership

The filing window has opened for citizens to once again show the Barstow area their leadership skills and run for local office. The deadline to file is August 8.

Seats on Barstow City Council, the Barstow Fire Protection District, both local school districts and the community college district, as well as other positions, are up for grabs.

We’ve written many editorials that are critical of local government behavior. From that, readers (especially government employees) might assume that we hate all government. This is not the case. We do, however, believe that the role of the government is to provide only what the private market or community cannot provide for itself — protection, roads, infrastructure, et cetera — and to do so efficiently and economically.

Unfortunately, government tends to try to expand its own responsibilities to justify raising taxes, creating more jobs and increasing its influence. Sometimes the motives are sinister or self-serving. Sometimes they’re out of a well-meaning but misplaced ideal to help people solve their problems. But the end result is the same — people have less and less control over their own lives and less responsibility for their own behavior.

As such, we would challenge all candidates for local office this fall to consider a “back to basics” pledge. What this means is that whenever an elected public official is considering his or her vote on a new policy, measure, ordinance, tax, or endeavor, ask:

• Does the existence of this problem mean it’s the government’s responsibility to fix it? Can the problem be managed by private citizens and organizations?

• Is this something our community actually needs government to do, or is it something a handful of people or a single organization is asking for?

• Are there policies in place already intended to deal with this issue? If there are and they don’t work, why would this new policy be any different?

• How does taking money from Barstow citizens to solve a problem affect the community’s economic growth? What would likely happen with this money if it were left in citizens’ hands?

• How does this policy affect private citizens' right to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness?

Growth of government is not the same as growth of a community. We are deeply concerned that our local government agencies have decided they are going to try to get more money from the community regardless of whether our economy supports it. We ask for those running for office to stand up against unnecessary local government growth.