The Declaration of Independence was written by a man whose passion and ideals we seek to uphold to this day.  Thomas Jefferson believed in individual potential, he believed in liberty, and he believed in the capacity of the human spirit to do good without having to be forced to do so by any external, coercive authority.  These are basic American values that have survives for over two centuries, and indeed, proven themselves over and over again.  Yet while such ideals may have remained in the hearts of Americans, all too often they have been lost within the bowels of government bureaucracies and the labyrinth of legislation impose by the "leaders" of this country.  And it is therefore wise to remember the words of Thomas Jefferson, enshrined within the Declaration of Independence:

• "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

We can, as a people, survive the problems we face today, and not only survive, but emerge better and stronger than we ever were before.  To do this though, we must remember another of Jefferson's convictions – the most important level of government is the local level.  Democracy isn't what exists in the meetings at a lobbyist's office or the memos sent between various executive agencies.  Democracy is what exists when a group of people in a community get together to discuss who to vote for on election day.  Or when a working parent with bill to pay attends a city council because they care about their community.  Local democracy is true democracy, where every citizen has a voice (or every citizen should have a voice) and government can reflect the wishes of the people.

So when we go about fixing the problems that America is facing today we need to start by fixing democracy at the local level.  This is an area of government where each of us can make a real difference.  And the problems local government faces aren't small, they are manifestations of the same issues facing the state and federal levels.  Here is Escondido we are facing recurring budget deficits, wasteful spending of money we don't have, high taxes and fees, choked out businesses, myopic city officials, copious red tape; and they pretend everything is alright.  This is what we can fix – here and now.

This campaign for Joe Bologna for Mayor is seeking to provide a means for people to take action to solve the problems in our community and the problems in our country.  Joe is a citizen who has offered forth his name to give people a chance to remake our city government.  Joe Bologna, like Thomas Jefferson, believes in the goodness and wisdom of average, everyday, working people.  And he strongly feels that our city government needs to represent these people instead of their own interests.

In the next four months (election day is on November 2nd), Joe will be talking to people in the neighborhoods and on the streets of Escondido.  He will be going door-to-door, house-to-house, to talk to the people who can make democracy work, the young, the old, those who are working, and those who are unemployed due to the policies emblematic of a corrupted system.  And Joe needs you.  Democracy is about people getting involved in their community.  And democracy in November will be about people getting involved to take our government back from those who have thrown us into this crisis, and continue to do the same things that brought us to this point.

In this blog I will keep you updated on what is happening in the campaign.  I will be posting every Monday or so, and will discuss how things went in the previous week, and anything we have planned in the week/s to come.  I will also occasionally post video I think are relevant or at least interesting.  Feel free to comment or contact us on the Contact Us page.  The internet is a fantastic tool for people to communicate and discuss and plan how to better our community.  And that is truly the core of American democracy.  Websites and blogs didn't exist in 1776, but I'm sure Thomas Jefferson would have loved them.