Berkeley is finding that having its own foreign policy isn't cheap. The city's recent dustup with the U.S. Marine Corps has so far cost the city more than $200,000, while businesses say they've been slammed by related protests.
And that's on top of the $1 million the city spends annually on domestic and foreign policy matters hatched by its 45 citizen commissions, which outnumber those in virtually every other city in America and debate everything from regime change in Iran to the plight of nonneutered dogs.
Dude(s), come on. It is important to discuss the things affecting our lives and history in general. But save it for the coffeehouse.
Each commission has nine members, each of whom is appointed by a council member, and meets monthly. Many have subcommittees, such as the Peace and Justice Commission's subcommittee on U.N. treaties. And every commission has a city staff member assigned to compile agendas, minutes and reports, and ensure that the board complies with the state's open meetings law and Robert's Rules of Order.
Oh, and time for a new city manager:
"It's a formalized form of participatory democracy," said City Manager Phil Kamlarz. "Do the commissions detract from what the city should be doing? Sure, they do. But we've had commissions for 30 years. They reflect the values of this city.
You know what's a formalized form of participatory democracy? VOTING. Running for office. Writing a letter. Getting to make a useless commission and talking about matters that have been, trust me, fully occupied by the feds is an insult to democracy because it fakes commissioners and those who care about them into thinking they are making a difference when, I'm betting, they aren't altering the trajectory of man. It's selfish and fantastic and needs to end.
I LOVE Democracy and liberalism and participating, but don't fool yourself into thinking you're doing good Berkeley. At this point, you aren't even doing well.
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