Local Control Presents Pitfalls And Opportunities For Democrats

As America’s politics increasingly breaks down to a split between urban and suburban/rural voters, the issue of local control will become a more and more important area of contention. This, of course, is nothing new as the tension between the states and the federal government has been almost the defining issue of our democracy, where the battles over slavery, racism, and equality have been fought. The new battleground going forward looks to be between individual localities and the states and the political skirmishes in this area provide some pitfalls and opportunities for Democrats.

The premiere example of this battle is the “bathroom bill” that passed the GOP-controlled North Carolina state legislature in a special session and was signed into law by the Republican governor, Pat McCrory. The sole purpose of the bill was to override a measure passed by the city of Charlotte that allowed transgender people to use the bathroom of their gender preference, as opposed to their birth gender. The Charlotte ordinance also offered other LGBTQ protections such as prohibiting Charlotte businesses from discriminating against LGBTQ employees and customers. While they were at it, the legislature also added in a requirement that no locality in the state can mandate a minimum wage higher than the state’s minimum wage.

The minimum wage is where we will really see that battle for local control take place. Just last week, the Ohio legislature passed a bill that prohibits localities in that state from regulating the minimum wage, paid sick leave, and even employee scheduling. The city of Cleveland was supposed to vote on just such a minimum wage ordinance later this spring, but the legislature’s action effectively preempted that vote. A similar tactic was tried in Arizona but that eventually backfired as the voters in that state passed Proposition 206 which not only raised the minimum wage to $10/hour but also mandated paid sick leave. It is this kind of scenario where the GOP-dominated legislature overturns a broadly popular measure that provides the opportunity for Democrats to exploit as it provides a clear example of which party is really on the side of the working class.

It is not just GOP-controlled legislatures overriding predominantly Democratic localities, it is also happening in blue states as corporations exert their power over state legislatures. In New York, New York City passed a bill that instituted a 5-cent fee on plastic bags that was meant to go into effect later this month. The bill had exclusions for takeout bags and also exempted people on food stamps, providing them with free reusable bags instead. The New York state legislature is nominally controlled by Democrats, although a breakaway group in the State Senate allows Republicans some control. Under pressure from powerful plastics industry groups such as the misnamed “American Progressive Bag Alliance”, the legislature passed a bill delaying implementation of the fee and it is currently awaiting Governor Cuomo’s signature or veto.

For Democrats, the pitfalls of arguing for local control are obvious. Just as Democratic arguments that cities like Cleveland should be able to regulate their own minimum wage, Republicans will argue that the states should be able to regulate their own minimum wage separate from the federal government. Republicans will take and have taken a similar tack with education, for example, with the promotion of creationism. A far better tack for Democrats is to use the overreach of the state legislatures to mobilize not only their base but the rest of the state in backing these largely popular measures, as was done in Arizona. Obviously winning a state-wide ballot initiative is substantially easier than winning enough local elections to swing the balance in these Republican dominated legislatures but is at least a start. And it allows Democrats to fight statewide over specific popular issues that highlight their real support for the working class rather than engage in a theoretical discussion over the role of government which is rarely fertile ground for Democrats.