Municipal elections in Israel are characterized by low voter turnout. The current municipal elections will be no different than in past decades, when the majority of voters stayed away from the polls. This is not a given. At the end of the day, a mayor has a lot more impact on citizens' daily lives than the prime minister. City inspectors make us angrier than the Supreme Court. It's a pity. Most services provided to citizens are part of the municipal fabric. So are most of the glitches and unfairness and corruption. Citizens are hurt by this corruption but have lost faith in their ability to change things in the voting booth. So they stay home. This is yet another way that the people's will is distorted. Those who actually vote are people with vested interests who drag their associates and dependents along with them. As a result, they carry more weight in the election results than among the general population, which doesn't bother to vote. This creates yet another distortion to the detriment of citizens, due to their apathy. Municipalities and local authorities are badly in need of transparency, sunlight and clean government. It is also in citizens' interest to fix things. It's enough to read about the Holyland trial, which casts a dark shadow on former Jerusalem mayor Ehud Olmert, his assistant Shula Zaken and assorted machers, to reach a shocking conclusion. Even if the judge accepts the defendants' version of events and acquits every single one of them -- a merely theoretical possibility -- the picture that emerges from the trial is one of disgusting degradation. This is just one example (albeit a prominent one) of a relentless series of financial scandals. Let's not ignore the political hygiene of one's environment. Jerusalem mayoral candidate Moshe Lion is certainly a talented man. But tell me who endorses you and I will predict how low you will sink. With Aryeh Deri, Avigdor Lieberman and a certain clique of Jerusalemite Likud operatives in his corner, Lion would be best advised to maintain his dignity and drop out of the race. The responsible citizen, the one who is interested in educating his children and having clean streets, should show up at the polls and vote with integrity and fair-mindedness for the person he believes will do the job better than others. With one caveat. Due to an honest oversight by the judicial system, mayors indicted on criminal charges can keep their jobs until election day. The High Court of Justice tried to fix this oversight with a decision whose legality leaps over a gaping legal chasm. It got to a point where the judges ordered that three mayors be removed from office, even though all three are now running for re-election. Without question, they are innocent until proved guilty. Obviously the attorney-general failed to act with sufficient foresight by not indicting them earlier. What is the point in ousting Bat Yam's mayor 48 hours before the polls opened- Let me suggest, then, that enlightened citizens act with good judgment. Citizens are best advised not to vote for someone charged with criminal conduct. In this way they will spare the new city council the debate over whether to dismiss their re-elected mayor. Just don't vote for him.
