Photo courtesy Richard Meagher
Richard Meagher understands why voters are closely following the volatile national political scene this election season. But the associate professor of political science at Randolph-Macon College argues that when it comes to how the government affects your everyday life, it's best to think locally. Meagher's new book, "Local Politics Matters: A Citizen's Guide to Making a Difference" (Lantern Press & Media) outlines the many ways — from taxes to affordable housing to transportation options — local government has an impact. It also details the ways ordinary people can plug into, and sway, important local issues. Meagher, who blogs about local and regional politics at rvapol.com, also offers up several "right answers" to hot-button disputes faced by communities everywhere. Some of these will be familiar to Richmonders — whether, for example, to use taxpayer funds for a stadium project (he says no). Most of all, the book makes a compelling case that following your local city council race may be just as important as tuning into, and fretting over, the national circus.
Richmond magazine: What was the genesis of this book?
Richard Meagher: I've been working on it for a couple of years. It started with the 2016 election, which was kind of dispiriting on a national level, with just a torrent of terrible news coming out of Washington. At the same time, we had a really energizing election here in Richmond, with a new mayor and new council members and a lot of new energy. All of that connected with courses that I teach in urban politics and state and local politics, where I'm always telling my students that, "Yeah, you guys are always thinking about the Supreme Court and the president, but what about the governor or the local board of supervisors? They are just as important."
RM: Why do you say that?
Meagher: Local government does some of the things that are closest to you and your family. Your local public school is a government agency, and those local schools are directed and maintained by school boards and funded by your city or county. It also determines whether or not there will be a movie theater, factory or new homes down the street. Your roads, traffic lights ... there's so much stuff that happens in your neighborhood that affects your quality of life and your community. These issues are just as important as what might happen in Washington.
RM: How did following Richmond's own hot-button issues inform the book?
Meagher: These are issues that almost all cities are going through. The affordable housing crisis is a national crisis, but it's affecting local governments everywhere. As for building stadiums, one of the reasons why I was so opposed to the Navy Hill development was that I had seen it happen elsewhere. It wasn't a new story. In fact, in the book, I don't even tell the story of Navy Hill, I do tell the story of the [Washington Football Team’s] practice facility. That's because it's the same story, and it happens over and over again in communities across the country.
RM: What is the best, most effective way that people can plug in to local politics?
Meagher: One, obviously, is to vote. It's the basic first step. Even if you don't think one vote makes a difference, in local government [it does] because the numbers really are small. You are talking about a handful of votes, could be a few hundred or less. And people should think about [joining] local civic organizations, which are really big here on the South Side ... your neighborhood groups. Sometimes they can be seen as NIMBY [not-in-my-backyard] groups keeping things out of the neighborhood, but they are also good ways to connect with government officials. Our neighborhood has a pretty strong civic association, and we get City Council members, school board, house of delegates and local police officers to come to speak with us, so it's a first step to get informed and to combine your voice with your neighbors to get heard.
RM: Did you get much help on the book from your Randolph-Macon students?
Meagher: Yes. I thank a couple of my honors students in the book who really helped me with my research on affordable housing. We were working with a local nonprofit called Circles Ashland, trying to help them get some housing proposals together and understand the issue a little bit more. And I didn't know the issue as well as I do now. My students really dug into it, looking at it through the prism of Hanover County, and now I know more about, for example, inclusionary zoning, which is changes to zoning rules to ensure that you can build affordable housing.
And, of course, I've gotten a lot out of bouncing some of these issues and stories off of my students in class. Some of the book comes from my study lessons. There's a chapter on regionalism that is the same story I've been teaching in urban politics for years, which is about how cities and counties are often pitted against each other in a dog-eat-dog fight over economic development, and one way out of that fight is to try and get them to work together for the whole region.
