Unless you have a long memory or have been in the room at City Hall named after him, you probably have never heard of John Hooker. He was the last Republican mayor of Bloomington, and left office in 1971. Since then, only Democrats have held the city’s top post and have sat in most of the chairs at the City Council table.
The recent arrest of a city employee for allegedly stealing at least $800,000 in construction funds raises the question of how well one-party government is serving Bloomington.
This is not to suggest that any of the city’s current office-holders were involved in the theft. Law enforcement officials will determine that.
Nor is it to suggest that having Republicans in charge will prevent crime. History shows that no political party has a monopoly on virtue.
But experience also shows that one of the best safeguards against public corruption is a competitive election. Replacing one party with another creates opportunities for taking a fresh look at existing programs and contracts. It also keeps government employees on their toes, since they have to be accountable to new officials periodically.
Not least importantly, competitive elections are good for politicians themselves. Nothing so encourages responsible partisanship as the prospect of actually winning office and having to make good on one’s promises.
Of course, other ways to deal with public corruption exist, including the kind of aggressive efforts by prosecutors that produced the arrest in Bloomington.
But ultimately, none will work well unless “the rascals” can be turned out from time to time.
Bloomington has not been doing much of that for quite a while, and we may now be paying the price.
References
“Mayor Kruzan, Bloomington City Council Members Address Embezzlement Case” (Herald Times)
“Small Is Beautiful, at Least in High-Income Democracies” (Worldbank.org)
