Thoughts on I77 activism...

With well over 400 blog posts and newspaper columns under my belt, having run for office once, and attended more public meetings than I can count, I've had the opportunity to see and learn a lot about the local politics scene in North Mecklenburg  - some of it not nice and some of it is absolutely great!

What has happened in local politics with the rise in citizen activism around the I77 HOT lanes issue falls into the latter category.

Has it been messy?  Yes.  Has it always been nice and polite?  No.  No, it has not.

But really, what exactly do those in positions of authority really expect when people finally wake up, get off the couch, and get involved?

If you take the most docile dog, put it in a cage, feed it garbage, and only let it out every so often just to give it a swift kick, when it eventually gets off the leash that dog will bite.  Not only will it bite, it will grab ahold tightly and shake as hard as possible.

Admittedly, that's an overly colorful comparison, but that's essentially what happened in Huntersville this past election.  The same likely would have happened in Cornelius and Davidson as well - particularly in the Mayors' races - if those had been contested.

So, while there is still considerably much to be done when it comes to the I77 toll issue, the activist groups involved have done a lot of things right to get to this point.  So far, the anti-toll movement has done a great job avoiding three major pitfalls that often kill activist driven movements  - too much ego, too many ideas, and too little enthusiasm.

When it comes to leadership, there is not a single leader of the anti-toll movement or even a real leadership structure.  Are there people who are more prominent than others?  Certainly, but they are dispersed enough to make it difficult for the pro-toll politicians and their allies in the media and the toll industry to specifically target them effectively.

The multiple activist groups that have grown out of the movement all cover different niches and leadership has been dispersed in ways that minimize the opportunity for conflict.  Between Exit 28 Ridiculousness, Lake Norman Conservatives, WidenI77.org, and I77 Business Plan there are at least a dozen "leaders".  That does not include the many other individuals doing things on their own and those who step up for specific efforts.

This dispersal also broadens the movement's appeal by providing different options for more people to be involved in ways they feel comfortable.  In this movement you will find people of all income and education levels.  You'll find people most comfortable in bathing suits on the lake to people most comfortable in business suits in boardrooms.  You'll find Republicans, Democrats, Conservatives, Progressives and most importantly, people who would describe themselves as "none of the above".

That diversity is a real strength, but it can also be a weakness if not handled correctly.  Here again, the movement has done things well by remaining focused.

Two of the groups, WidenI77.org and I77 Business plan are solely focused on the issue, so that is relatively easy.  LKN Conservatives started out of the desire of some Republicans who wanted to speak out more forcefully on the issue breaking away from the more establishment local GOP group, the North Mecklenburg Republican Women.  Even though the LKN Conservatives does have speakers covering other topics they do a good job of keeping the conversation about tolls when crossing paths with activists of different stripes within the anti-toll movement.

The group most at risk of other topics dividing the effort is E28R simply because it is an effort based on Facebook.  It is really easy to get off track in cyberspace.  However, the group has done a really good job of moderating and when things have periodically veered off on other issues it is quickly brought back to focus.

Finally, there has been no lack of enthusiasm.

For an effort that has been this long - three years running for many people - that is simply amazing.  When looking at the number of hours put into this effort it is simply hard to believe that so many
people have remained committed for so long.  That also tells you how important this issue is for the community.

The victories at the polls this past election should be a real shot in the arm - particularly for those people new to the political process.

If this activist driven momentum continues and does not fall prey to a letdown, there will likely be repercussions felt for years to come.  So many more people are watching and are now aware how local government works, it will be hard to go back to how things were when only a few were paying attention.

I77 Activism Blurs Political Lines...Precedent for Success in North Carolina

As someone who has been active in politics for a while now, one of the most interesting aspects of the activism surrounding the I77 HOT Lanes is how much it crosses political boundaries when it comes to the people involved.

It is clear from knowing some of the people personally and from reading comments in cyberspace from a wide variety of others that no one political label would cover the entire group.  If everyone who is actively working against this proposed plan were all in a room and someone asked people to raise their hands for the labels Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, moderate progressive, libertarian, or any other label, it is clear that numerous hands would go up for each one.

The opposition to this covers so many sub-groups it is hard to overstate how widespread it had become.  Rarely will you see this kind of teamwork across political lines, but there is precedent for it in North Carolina.

In eastern North Carolina there was a widespread effort that stopped the most powerful force on the planet from doing what it wanted.  That was the effort in the late 2000's to stop the US Navy from building a facility called the "Outer Landing Field" or OLF.

Here's an excerpt on the OLF from a piece I wrote back in 2012.  Unfortunately, the links don't work. The NOOLF site went dark - because it was no longer needed.

From April 2012...

Ever heard of the OLF?  If you've ever driven through some of the counties in eastern NC or Virginia, you would.  NOOLF.org signs dot the roadsides, and some have obviously been there for years.  Last year, the organization won a major battle in its long-running war of attrition.  Here's a quote from the most recent news item posted on the NOOLF.org website.

"The U.S. Navy called a Jan. 27 truce in its 10-year battle to build a practice airfield in North Carolina or Virginia.

The proposed Outlying Landing Field (OLF) for practice landings and takeoffs by carrier-based jets from Norfolk, Va., stirred strong opposition in both states, but none more than in North Carolina, where the Navy first attempted to obtain land for the field a decade ago.

'The Navy made the right decision,' said Vance Aydlett Jr., chairman of the Currituck County Board of Commissioners, 'The Navy promised that it would not build an OLF in a community that did not want it, and today it followed through on the promise.'"

NOOLF is a successful activist driven effort to stop government overreach, and it provides a prime example of how diverse groups can come together to stop such efforts - even as they attack the issue from totally different perspectives.  Take a look at the site's "allies" page and you will see groups as diverse as the Sierra Club and FreedomWorks.

You would never expect to see that would you?  Those groups could not agree on anything could they?  The answer to both questions is "No".  However, on this effort they come at the issue from different perspectives and end up in the same place, and that place allows them to agree.  The OLF is bad for the community for environmental reasons and  property rights reasons.  So, they agree to fight it together.

Fast forward to today and the fight against the toll lanes.  One can certainly see a lot of parallels to the efforts of WidenI77.org and Facebook groups like "Exit 28 Ridiculousness".

Always remember, no challenge is too big when "the people" work together.