The typical quote is “Democracy dies in darkness”. According to Gemini:

“Democracy Dies in Darkness” is the official slogan of The Washington Post. Owner Jeff Bezos selected the phrase after hearing investigative journalist Bob Woodward, who found the line in a 2006 First Amendment judicial opinion by U.S. District Judge Damon J. Keith regarding government wiretapping and secrecy.

Here in California, it seems democracy is slowly withering away in plain sight. Tuesday’s Candidate Forum was lightly attended to say the least. It seemed like maybe 30 people were there for an event that used to be standing room only and had overflow into the lobby. The move to “five little districts” is one thing driving the lack of interest. We only had three candidates on the dais (Andrea Pappajohn was called away). Peter Stevenson is unopposed but was invited by the League of Women Voters anyway. That left only Jen Faber and Howard Wettan to vie for the District 3 seat. All three candidates said they are elected by district but represent the whole city. But voters tend not to show up when they don’t have a vote (as with two districts this cycle) or a competitive choice (also in two districts this cycle). I just read where Newsom signed 1,000 bills this legislative cycle, but apparently this democracy-killing loophole in the law wasn’t important enough to anyone in Sac. The DJ’s Mark Simon tallied nearly half of the 52 city council seats being elected in the county have no competition. 80% of our city’s voters are disenfranchised and nobody who could do anything about it cares.

The Forum itself was fairly mundane. Part of that is due to the format. Three minutes to introduce oneself and two minutes to conclude. One minute per question. With questions like “How would you suggest we wrest some local control back from Sacramento?”, “Do you support selling Lot L?”, and “What do you think are the Top 3 priorities for Bgame residents?”, one minute doesn’t cut it. Back when we had nine people on stage that might have been necessary, but not when there are only three. Unfortunately, the lady from the League struggled to keep track of the speaking order for three or to organize her thoughts around the twelve questions asked. That isn’t helping keep democracy vibrant. Here are Howard, Peter and Jen.