CON: PALMDALE'S SYSTEM NOW THWARTS FACTIONS.Byline: Mike Dispenza Mayor Jim Ledford is advocating yet another proposal that will prove untenable for the citizens of Palmdale. He has submitted a ballot measure that, if approved by voters in November, will mandate district elections in Palmdale. The idea is supposed to be fairness and equity for all. Unfortunately, the result will be something else altogether. Let's examine the fallacies This is a list of fallacies. Formal fallacies Formal fallacies are arguments that are fallacious due to an error in their form or technical structure.
Fallacy fallacy, in logic, a term used to characterize an invalid argument. Strictly speaking, it refers only to the transition from a set of premises to a conclusion, and is distinguished from falsity, a value attributed to a single statement. : Districts will give diverse communities fair representation. Fact: Districts create political fiefdoms that divide city communities into haves and have-nots. Under the current system, the population in a specific geographic area of the city cannot be punished if their elected council person votes the wrong way. Imagine a scenario under the Ledford plan: The mayor's political agenda is supported by two district council persons but opposed by the others. The district council representatives in the minority block aren't just on the losing end of a 3-2 or even 4-1 vote, but they are now in a position where their districts are vulnerable to retaliation RETALIATION. The act by which a nation or individual treats another in the same manner that the latter has treated them. For example, if a nation should lay a very heavy tariff on American goods, the United States would be justified in return in laying heavy duties on the manufactures and and blackmail blackmail, in law, exaction of money from another by threat of exposure of criminal action or of disreputable conduct. The term was originally used for the tribute levied until the 18th cent. , as the majority council withholds votes and funding for badly needed district improvements. It's called political coercion coercion, in law, the unlawful act of compelling a person to do, or to abstain from doing, something by depriving him of the exercise of his free will, particularly by use or threat of physical or moral force. . Will district elections cure this ill? Or will they simply transform the tyranny Tyranny Big Brother omnipresent leader of a totalitarian nightmare world. [Br. Lit.: 1984] Creon rules Thebes with cruel decrees. [Gk. Lit.: Antigone] Gessler Austrian governor treats Swiss despotically; shot by Tell. of individuals into the tyranny of the majority The phrase tyranny of the majority, used in discussing systems of democracy and majority rule, is a criticism of the scenario in which decisions made by a majority under that system would place that majority's interests so far above a minority's interest as to be comparable in , as voters in other districts stack the council against the interests of a now clearly identified minority population? That argument aside, the very idea of at-large district elections is a fallacy. We cannot expect voters to favor candidates from other than their own districts. At-large elections will surely deteriorate into elections based on de facto [Latin, In fact.] In fact, in deed, actually. This phrase is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practical purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate. district boundaries. Fallacy: The east side of Palmdale is neglected because four of the five current council members reside on the west side. Fact: Under the current system the City Council's attention is focused on the city in its entirety, and council members are accountable to all Palmdale citizens, regardless of their address. Need evidence? How about the recent Eastside Beautification beau·ti·fy tr. & intr.v. beau·ti·fied, beau·ti·fy·ing, beau·ti·fies To make or become beautiful. beau Project, including the widening of Avenue S, the double-bridge overpass at 20th Street East, the new regional shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into and Wal-Mart anchor store anchor store n. A large store, such as a department store or supermarket, that is prominently located in a shopping mall to attract customers who are then expected to patronize the other shops in the mall. on 47th Street East, the road and drainage improvements in the area of 20th Street East? Need I go on? Fallacy: ``A person elected from a district becomes a part of that district'' (Mayor Ledford as quoted by the Daily News, July 13, 2001). Fact: A council person out of favor with the council majority will be forced to negotiate from a position of weakness in order to buy the council's attention to address the needs of his or her district. Do you believe that the particular council person's district will ever be at the top of the council's priority list? The mayor's contention that ``an expert of that district'' will be in a better position to serve the needs of that district crashes in the face of political reality. Fallacy: Mayor Ledford says the districts will divide the city into four areas with about the same number of people in each area. Fact: The July 13 Daily News reported that the ``proposed districts vary in population as well as size.'' District 3, the southern central district where Mayor Ledford resides, has more than 35,000 residents. District 4, the east-side district, has about 25,000 residents. City officials say the proposed boundaries take into account housing tracts expected to be built soon in the less-populated, less-developed districts. Well, I suppose this is fair for District 4 and the two other less-populated districts - if you believe that the 10,000 phantom new residents will all move here at once and vote in the first elections after districting. Equal representation? When? District elections would be a disaster for Palmdale. It's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a for citizens to send a message to Mayor Ledford that we will not tolerate the creation of a political machine in our city, especially when it's falsely presented to us under the guise of equity and fairness. We have a good system in place now. Do we really need Mayor Ledford to fix it? CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Mike Dispenza Backs at-large plan |
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