Local Democracy in America
In America, elected officials should be elected. However, at the local level, those in power have sometimes chosen not to hold elections.
And this has happened. Multiple times. In the same modern American city. In the 21st century.
It took a law in that city to guarantee that elections are held.
“With Local Democracy in America, author Mic Farris beautifully dissects the tense relationship between local government and its constituents, revealing hard-fought battles to ensure fair representation. Farris manages to depict in visceral detail a sadly all-too-familiar David versus Goliath struggle – at a cost no voter should have to pay – along with a poignant reminder that democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it.”
LINDA PARKS, Mayor, Thousand Oaks (1998)
“Mic Farris brings a straightforward look at how local government can go astray of its own laws, elected officials can abuse their power, and monied interests can get their way. His work is important, particularly at a time when the news media has cut back its coverage. As they say, “sunshine is the best disinfectant” and Mr. Farris’ examples provide a cautionary tale of the ease by which local officials can defy the public trust.”
CLAUDIA BILL-DE LE PEÑA, Mayor, Thousand Oaks (2004, 2012, 2016, 2020)
“With Local Democracy in America, author Mic Farris beautifully dissects the tense relationship between local government and its constituents, revealing hard-fought battles to ensure fair representation. Farris manages to depict in visceral detail a sadly all-too-familiar David versus Goliath struggle – at a cost no voter should have to pay – along with a poignant reminder that democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it.”
DAVID NEWMAN, Mayor, Thousand Oaks (2024)
“We Americans tend to think of our cherished freedoms as something established long ago – during the Civil War, perhaps, or with the women’s suffragette movement. Yet as Mic Farris so ably describes here, a battle for democracy continues to rage right here and right now. This deeply researched history of an affluent suburb of Los Angeles shows entrenched special interests using anti-democratic means to keep and expand power – and barring citizens’ access to the ballot box in the process.
“If you want to understand why so many Americans no longer feel government works for them, this history explains what went wrong, and what we can do to rededicate ourselves to one of our most hallowed freedoms, the right to vote.”
Local Democracy in America
On Elections and Their Role in Self-Governance
Thousand Oaks is a relatively new American city, incorporating in the 1960s at a time of rapid growth in the Southern California region. It started from humble Western beginnings, serving as a backdrop for Hollywood’s “Golden Age,” and eventually became home to the global biotech giant Amgen and over 125,000 residents.
Local Democracy in America is a three-part series on American & Californian democracy viewed through the local lens of one modern American city. We visit three episodes in Thousand Oaks history from the 1990s to the 2020s, where the ideals of American democracy gave way to anti-democratic tendencies for keeping power. We also remind ourselves of the importance of key American democratic principles: the integrity of elections, the right to vote, and the meaning of representation.