Where does real power reside in American politics? In concept, it resides in the hands of the people. The voters decide who gets elected and who gets the boot.
Often, the opportunity to boot someone out of office doesn’t come along soon enough to prevent one officeholder from making decisions that will negatively influence our city, state or nation for years to come. Thankfully, the way our government is split into three branches provides us with the recourse of electing another party into the legislature when the executive branch is running amok. The legislative branch can act as a check to the executive branch or vice versa. This system of checks and balances assures voters that we will have an opportunity to enact a change within a relatively short time span.
Representatives come up for election every two years, while state senators come up for election every four years. Governors come up for election every four years and U.S. senators come up for election every six years. This staggered system works well most of the time. Once in awhile, a party with an agenda gets ahold of two or three branches and forces their will upon the people for a period of time but the political pendulum inevitably swings back.
Unfortunately, checks, balances and term limits don’t apply to every facet of our government. Of the three branches of government, the judicial branch is often touted as the only branch with lifetime appointments. Once someone is appointed to the Supreme Court, they can stay in for life. However, this system of lifetime appointment isn’t limited to the Supreme Court or the judicial branch. It also takes place at the federal, state and local levels more than the average citizen may be aware.
There are a great number of boards and regulatory commissions throughout federal, state and city governments to which members are appointed by mayors, governors and presidents. Some of these appointments are lifetime positions. Some of them carry a great deal of authority. Those appointed to these boards and commissions effect policy for years and years without ever answering to the people because they don’t come up for election.
In some instances, once they are appointed, these officials don’t even answer to the appointing body. Members of these boards and commissions wield a great deal of power and influence.
Some examples at the federal level include the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Administration and Homeland Security. Some examples at the state level include the State Highway Commission, the State Board of Health, the State Airport Authority, the Utility Regulatory Commission and the state Economic Development Board.
Some examples at the local level include the Economic Development Commission, the Redevelopment Commission, the Board of Works and Safety, the Housing Authority, the Area Plan Commission, the Zoning Appeals Board, the local Board of Health, the Sanitary Sewer District and the Parks Board.
These boards and commissions decide how and where public and private business is conducted. Each citizen is affected by their decisions. Yet, they are not elected officials. They are simply appointed by officials we elect.
In many cases, it’s for the best. We’d be at the ballot box every weekend if we had to fill every important staff position in government by election. However, in some cases the authorities on these various boards can run amok. They should answer to the people or at least to an office elected by the people. Without such a check, these boards can and sometimes do disregard the wishes of the citizenship and their elected officials to our detriment. Once appointed, there is no way to stop them barring legal action.
In my first term as mayor, I sometimes experienced resistance from board members who had been appointed by previous administrations. Some of them had to be removed by lawsuit. We felt as though these board members were not moving quick enough in promoting the city’s progress so we removed them and the courts supported our decision.
When you elect an official, keep in mind that you are trusting that official with the appointment of board members that may effect policy for years to come. Those board members will decide who gets zoned for a building project, who gets money for development, who gets shut down by the board of health, where sewers and infrastructure are built and what buildings get condemned. They can support an administration’s progress or severely impede it.
Make sure you vote for candidates who can be trusted to appoint the best men and women possible to boards and commissions. Sometimes, special interest groups support a particular candidate just to get one of their people appointed to a certain board. Voters should study who a candidate associates with. His associates could end up affecting policy long after he leaves office.
Pete Chalos, a longtime teacher, coach and public servant in Vigo County, was mayor of Terre Haute for 16 years. Send e-mail to pchalos@netscape.com.
Opinion
Pete Chalos: Your vote counts in numerous and hidden ways
- Opinion
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READERS' FORUM: May 25, 2012
• Mayor, Republic solve trash issue
• Negative ads pervert politics
• VCSC team gives all-star response
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RONN MOTT’S MINUTE: Confused
I am confused. For those who know me, that is not an unusual state. But, while listening to a political commercial on TV, I heard the announcer say the candidate was “real conservative.” If he is a “real conservative,” is someone not quite a “real conservative” an “unreal conservative”?
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EDITORIAL: Towering response
It comes as incredibly sad news that a Garfield Towers resident has succumbed as the result of a fire last week at the northside apartment complex.
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READERS' FORUM: May 24, 2012
• Cartoon unfunny, insults disabled
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MARK BENNETT: 500 history runs in her veins, but she’ll pass on the buttermilk
Katy Balch appreciates tradition. The 20-year-old from Terre Haute understands how neatly her role as one of 33 Indianapolis 500 princesses fits her family.
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READERS’ FORUM: May 23, 2012
• The rule of the ‘government czar’
• Promises often don’t prove noble
• Smoking not going away soon
• Primary voting gets it wrong
• Where’s the pride in our parks?
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RONN MOTT’S MINUTE: GSA Debacle
The recent General Services Administration debacle is enough to gag a whale.
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READERS’ FORUM: May 22, 2012
• Try a new approach to control drugs
• Our president is ruining the USA
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LIZ CIANCONE: She wasn’t hooked by the fishing hobby
I’m told that eveyone should have a hobby. If “hobby” means collecting something like stamps or coins, I don’t have one.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news
• Cream of the crop
• Keep the ideas flowing
• Remembering fallen officers
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READERS’ FORUM: May 21, 2012
• Some still don’t understand presence of pervasive racism
• Thanks for help in emergency
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EDITORIAL: Hazards of the spring abundant now on I-70
A major holiday weekend is approaching. The weather has been consistently inviting for travel and outdoor activity. Gas prices are even inching downward.
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MARK BENNETT: Roadway Role Models: Adults need to remember habits often rub off on teens
Plenty of dads connected with a car ad that first aired on TV two years ago.
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READERS’ FORUM: May 20, 2012
St. Ann’s gives thanks to those who supported its mission
No deception, just GOP spin
Disdain for only liberals
Writer doesn’t know the Bible
Flawed primary discourages voters
Recognition was much appreciated
Who’s fanning marriage issue?
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FLASHPOINT:Bipartisan vs. Nonpartisan
During the primary election season there was much discussion regarding whether bipartisanship is a positive or negative attribute as it relates to the work of the United States Congress.
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EDITORIAL: Embrace the Sycamores
Terre Haute should understand the rarity of an opportunity to celebrate a championship.
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READERS’ FORUM: May 18, 2012
• Romney imperfect, but better option
• Great support for Strassenfest
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RONN MOTT’S MINUTE: ‘Political Super Pacs’
The Supreme Court has told us it is not constitutional to restrict how much money someone can put into a super political action committee.
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EDITORIAL: Good choice for stability
For the first time in 25 years, Indiana will have a new chief justice for its Supreme Court. For those who value stability on the state’s highest court — and we count ourselves among those who do — the appointment Tuesday of longtime Justice Brent Dickson is good news.
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READERS’ FORUM: May 17, 2012
• Don’t ignore what GOP won’t tell you
• Scotties help keep neighborhood tidy
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EDITORIAL: Correcting the prison imbalance
Terre Haute will no longer count federal prisoners when the city slices its population into six equal City Council districts. That decision by the City Council last week to remove the inmates at the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex from the council district mathematical formula may not make waves, but it makes sense.
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READERS’ FORUM: May 16, 2012
• Assessing the tough decisions
• Take another look at school schedule
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RONN MOTT’S MINUTE: “One and Done”
We can see University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari standing up to his knees in beautifully blue grass as he is waving goodbye.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Many happy thoughts to go around on Mothers’ Day
I know this is going to sound goofy, but Mothers’ Day never passes that I don’t think of my Uncle Jim.
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READERS’ FORUM: May 15, 2012
• Attack obesity at its causes
• Uplifting service for believers
• Evolution based on faith, not proof
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the News
• Sometimes bureaucracies do listen
• April hours bring May flowers
• Getting our airport off the ground
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READERS’ FORUM: May 14, 2012
• Liberals distort women’s issues
• Davis Park says thanks for honor
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EDITORIAL: When it’s IU vs. UK, there’s got to be a way
If the annual Indiana-Kentucky basketball game was not significant, would the coaches of the two universities be talking like this?
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MARK BENNETT: Read me to sleep, mom
She read. They listened, staring at the pages.
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READERS' FORUM: May 13, 2012
• Right answer is respect, inclusion
• Theme sounds strangely familiar
• Good explanation, still no solution
• Facts about our founders
• Santorum and the Constitution
- More Opinion Headlines
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READERS' FORUM: May 25, 2012




