Our View: Politicians reject the will of voters

Call it contempt of voter. It is the latest anti-taxpayer sentiment to emanate from City Hall. City politicians want higher taxes during a recession, regardless of the circumstance facing those who pay taxes. It is all the rage to denounce voters, who have defeated recent tax hike requests, as an out-of-touch minority. The majority view is something known to city politicians, their employees, and a few enlightened pundits. 

Consider two recent columns written for the Gazette by members of the Colorado Springs City Council. Here’s an excerpt from an article by Councilman Bernie Herpin: 

“Only about 30-35 percent of our citizens vote and the majority don’t participate in the park and recreation sports programs, or use the parks and trails and hope they never need a cop or firefighter…” etc. 

Councilman Herpin cares greatly about Colorado Springs. In his argument, however, it sounds as if he would like to devalue election outcomes. The regular people, the folks who use parks and recreation programs and worry about safety, do not vote. If they did vote, things would be much different. 

In truth, those who do not vote decide to delegate their votes to those who do. Furthermore, it seems logical that someone who wants more from City Hall would be motivated to ask for more by filling in a simple ballot and mailing it in. Voting has never been easier and more convenient than it is today. 

Councilman Jerry Heimlicher, who is frequently a great voice of reason, veered toward contempt of voter in a column in Wednesday’s Gazette. The councilman wants to know how “the public” feels, instead of how “the voters” feel. The voters, we’re told, don’t represent the majority will. “One third of the people are dictating how we are governed and what will happen to services,” Heimlicher wrote. 

So voting is “dictating” now? Heimlicher was disappointed when voters rejected City Hall’s recent effort to keep a property tax set to expire in December. The tax was for repairs and expansion of a road, and city officials wanted to extend it for “economic development.” In that election, 69,848 people voted on the request. Voters trounced the tax increase 43,499 to 26,346. 

Heimlicher questions the importance of election results because most eligible voters don’t vote. He implored: “It is time for the majority of citizens to be heard and time for the majority to help chart our course for the future.” 

Councilman, we shouldn’t govern based on perceived public opinion. We should govern based on results from elections, such as the one in which a minority of eligible voters elected you. Let us assume, however, that most who choose not to vote would vote the way Councilman Heimlicher believes they would. To counter the will of voters on 1A, nearly 60 percent of the 206,448 non-voters would have to favor the tax increase. The word “unlikely” seems an understatement, especially if we consider most political surveys of eligible voters accurately predict the actions of the minority who actually vote. 

Heimlicher’s indictment of voters says the one-third of eligible voters who choose to vote provide “Utopia for special interest groups as they only have to get a relative few voters out since the majority of folks are not speaking up.” 

OK, but that would work both ways. The 1A question proposed a new tax to benefit special interests. It would have taken money from all, and given it to a few, in the hope that doing so would create jobs for the masses. Special interests, such as a large national bailout bank and various political factions in Colorado Springs, helped fund the $170,000 campaign in favor of 1A. If it is easy to manipulate the 30 percent who vote, the $170,000 should have done far more than the $4,000 spent by 1A opponents. The money tells us voters made up their own minds, as the big spending of a special interest campaign did not sway them. 

The councilman’s complaint about elections oddly suggested solving the problem with an election. He wrote: “How about a referendum on a ballot that asks the people to check a box to indicate what level of services from local government they want and need and what level they will support with their tax dollars?” 

This could not possibly help, if everything Heimlicher taught us is true. It would give us feedback only from voters — a minority faction easily manipulated by special interests with views that don’t reflect majority will. 

Politicians should respect voters and the electoral process. Those who do not may be in the wrong business.