I suggest the title of this post acknowledging I don’t know a whole lot about Johnston’s unique political scene.  Locally, things can be very specific to the individuals involved and their disputes, but I have been a keen observer of factors that make it more difficult for Republicans to work through those disputes.

Apparently, Johnston has a single opponent candidate, an Independent, in its Town Council and School Committee races, and not a single Republican.  Sandra Taylor, the president of the local Republican town committee, it’s a matter of her candidates’ having to focus on supporting their families.  That’s a downstream indicator of other problems, in the absence of which, I suspect people would make the time for civic engagement.

Motivational Factors

First, Republicans are less inclined to engage in local politics as a step toward a political career.  It genuinely requires sacrifice of their economic and other interests, whereas the Democrat machine can be a route to personal prosperity in the Ocean State.

Second, running (and especially winning) as a Republican means you will instantly become a representative villain for the news media.  Holding office is not a route to positive attention for conservatives around here.

This is compounded by, third, the increasing nastiness of progressive activism.  The legislature has written student activism into school curricula, which the teachers union will happily leverage.  Progressives are happy to show up at your house and make a scene.  Progressive activists will take to social media in a swarm of bullies.

Structural Factors

Fourth, statewide media doesn’t cover local government unless there’s a controversy, and people no longer get their news from local media.  Thus, fewer people who aren’t political junkies will happen to come across stories that might get them interested in civic engagement.  Relatedly, the arena of letters to the editor has disappeared, and those written debates used to draw people in.

Fifth, retirees may not be staying around, at least enough to hold public office, and perhaps younger retirees (the Boomers) may not be as civically engaged.  In any event, they have now marinated in a lifetime of “Republicans are bad” propaganda, and so they are less likely to step forward to represent that party (see above).

Sixth, all of Rhode Island’s biggest problems are simply insurmountable.  The labor unions have state government locked up, and any advancement made in local government will draw their attention at that higher level.  While it makes local engagement even more important, this means repairing local government requires something more like a crusader than a friendly local seeking to give something back to the community because all of the negatives of running as a Republican will be exponentially heightened if an elected official actually intends to address real problems.  Not only are crusaders harder to come by, but they can be harder to work with, come into conflict with each other, and, in their passion, are apt to branch apart when they disagree.

Solutions

I’ve got some ideas that I’ll be developing and testing in the near future, but there are no simple and easy fixes to this problem.  Inasmuch as it’s a clear problem not just for the Republican Party, but for the entire state, it’d be helpful if well-meaning members of the political establishment, especially the news media, would recognize the challenges and consciously adjust how they cover news and treat people who step forward.

I wouldn’t count on that, though, which means the problems are likely to get worse before they can possibly get better.

Featured image by Justin Katz using Dall-E 3 and Photoshop AI.