Political science students and a professor shared the impact local politics can have on communities is greater than people suspect because federal programs are often run by state and local officials - so who community members elect to state office affects more than just local laws.
Troy Smith, a professor in the Faculty of Business & Government, said local and state governments control the laws that affect a person’s everyday life, such as safety and education policies. In contrast, the federal government controls issues like foreign affairs and interstate commerce policies.
“Even when the federal government creates policies, it relies on state and local governments to implement and enforce many of those policies. This gives the state and local governments considerable authority and power to make and enforce the laws and policies that affect us in our daily lives,” said Smith.
Kimo Burgess, a senior from Aiea majoring in political science, said, “The people who are running for office will decide how things are done in the community. So by not getting involved in local elections, you allow other people to make decisions for you.”
Stephen Perez, a junior from Mexico majoring in political science, said from his experience in the United States and Mexico, local elections can be more important than national ones because of their impact on communities.
He explained, “I feel [local elections] are probably more vital sometimes than national elections because local elections are where we see firsthand the effects of actually participating in elections. We see actual physical changes in our communities.”
Smith said local and state politicians impact federal politicians because they need the support of local officials to implement federal policies and keep voter support.
“State and local officials can also sometimes threaten the reelection chances of federal officials by feeding media stories or supporting opposing candidates.”
He continued, “More specifically, local issues such as how the police train and treat citizens, whether schools are held in class or online, and income inequality are experienced locally but have national reverberations.”
Smith said because the population within state and local governments is smaller than the nation, citizens have a higher influence in state elections and politics. “Because few people actually participate in state and local politics, there is a real opportunity for people to be influential. If you would get 10 of your friends and participate in local political party activities, then you and your friends could have a lot of influence on law and policy.”
Burgess said, although “our democracy isn’t perfect,” it is important for people to get to know candidates well, register to vote and to go out and vote. He called voting “a sacred duty” and said more people need to be involved in it.
Perez said citizens should be encouraged to participate in their local elections and other government elections. “That’s a great benefit for [citizens] and communities. In fact, our Church leaders ask us to participate as well, and there’s reasoning behind it.”