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Health & Fitness

The 70s and Beyond. A President Almost Impeached in Washington. Two Council Members Recalled in Albany. The Anti Tax, Anti Government Movement Begins Afresh.

Working for Albany taught me a lot about the importance of government.

Preface: This series of articles, detailing reflections from over the years, will appear over the next two weeks. I welcome any feedback. Miss Parts 1 and 2? .

Part 3. The 70s and Beyond. A President Almost Impeached in Washington. Council Members Recalled in Albany. The Anti Tax, Anti Government Movement Begins Afresh.

Nixon resigned the presidency in August of 1974. His decision came about as Congress was holding impeachment hearings. He was accused of criminal activity during the 1968 Presidential race involving the break-in at the Democratic headquarters located at the Watergate building in Washington, D.C. Gerald Ford, the vice president, became president.

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In 1976, Jimmy Carter, a Democrat was elected president. The country was trying to heal its wounds incurred primarily by the Vietnam War. The Carter presidency would notably be the only Presidential term during which the United States was not engaged in a major military action between the Vietnam War and now. President Carter has been the only President to have solar panels installed on the White House to promote a new direction in energy policy. President Ronald Reagan had them removed.

In 1978, when I was , life in America seemed rather calm. The city of Albany, on the other hand, was in the midst of its own turmoil.

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In November 1977, a recall election unseated two young City Council members. The recall of a third member failed. I am sure there are conflicting versions about why the recall effort happened. I was not involved in it. I tried to steer clear of the recall politics during my bid to unseat my predecessor.

A short explanation of the recall is that the Albany population was changing. A younger generation began moving into Albany (houses were still rather affordable during the seventies, selling for under $35,000 for the most part). 

The Council in the early 70s was primarily representative of the older generation. A land scandal involving the City Council and one of its members, in particular, concerning the approval of the Gateview project, occurred in 1972.

In 1974, two young council members swept into office. In 1976 another non-old timer was elected.

By 1977, there was a push back by the older generation. The two recalled council members were replaced in a special election held in February 1978 to fill the remaining two months of the recalled council members’ terms.

The two newly elected council members had to run again for election in the April 1978 election at which time I also ran for City Attorney.

1978 and the ensuing years were notable for other reasons. . Homeowners relished putting a cap on their taxes. But Prop 13 was just the first of a series of tax measures that would restrict taxation and impose a two-thirds majority voting requirement to enact many forms of new taxes in California.

Little did we know that Prop 13 and the subsequent tax measures were the manifestation of a group of anti-government advocates who wished to restrict government’s ability to carry out its mission to protect the health, safety, and welfare of citizens.

These advocates cast government as an evil that needed to have its reach restricted. Cutting revenue sources was necessary to, as I would characterize it, starve the beast, aka ‘government.’

When deprived of its nourishment, government must somehow cut back on performing its mission. To cut expenditures, it can cut staff, services or programs. It can be forced to outsource to private companies who will charge for the services as they see fit.

Profit-seeking private enterprises descend on government to cherry pick the money makers. Meanwhile, the taxpayers receive fewer services from government, and complain. The most famous anti-government spokesperson emerging in the 1980s was none other than Ronald Reagan, who was elected president in 1980.

Working for Albany taught me a lot about the importance of government. Cities are unique. Cities are probably the purest form of representative democracy of all levels of government. Cities are the governmental agencies closest to the people.

The essence of a city’s responsibility, just like the state and federal governments, is to protect the health, welfare, and safety of the community. Council members know this. Council members recognize that their votes are visible to the citizens who come to council meetings or see the meetings .

Decisions made in Sacramento or Washington, D.C., rarely are as visible to the citizens. More than not decisions at a state or federal level reflect how much money lobbyists and business groups have given to the elected officials making decisions rather than what is best for the general population.

The best interests of the general public are today, more than ever before, short changed at the state and federal levels.

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