In short, it involves acknowledging that the decisions I make in my own self interest often have a negative impact on my neighbors, and that there must be some mechanism for balancing out the rights of individuals and the rights of the public at large. That means, of course, is democratic government. Our democratic government has also played a pivotal role in the lives of millions of U.S. citizens through such programs as compulsory public education, the GI Bill, Affirmative Action, student loans, medicare and medicaid, federal highway assistance funds, rural electrification programs, low income housing tax credits, not to mention national defense and humanitarian aid abroad. I believe in government and the positive role it can play in people's lives, and I suppose that belief has a lot to do with the fact that I have spent the last ten years serving in the Utah House of Representatives, and that I am today a candidate for mayor of Salt Lake City. Now, in the time I have left, I want to talk about the special attraction which city government holds for me, and the unique opportunities it presents to promote tolerance and bring about positive change in people's lives.
City government is the government closest to the people.
It is the layer of government that most directly affects people's lives. Presumably, most of us woke up this morning and took a shower. The water coming out of that tap was most likely supplied by a city. Many of the roads we traveled in our car were city roads. Our safety on those roads depended largely on the traffic management system provided by a city.