John Washington III Asks How Politicians Can Claim to Fight for the People and Never Fight for the People

John Washington III is asking a direct question of the politicians who campaign on fighting for the people. In a written statement, John Washington III noted that every election season brings the same promises — working for the people, fighting for the people, representing the people — and then asked, in his words, "Where is the fight?"

He pointed first to public safety. When police officers abuse their authority or engage in corruption, John Washington III asked, where are the politicians who claim to represent the people — why are they not fighting to hold corrupt officers accountable, and why are they not standing up for the citizens who put them in office?

He turned next to property taxes. Politicians talk about lowering property taxes, John Washington III wrote, but never seriously discuss ending property taxes on the homes people own and live in. He asked why a family should spend 20 or 30 years paying off a home and then keep paying property taxes on it for the rest of their lives, and how a politician can campaign on lowering property taxes, get elected, and then vote for tax increases.

The statement closed on transparency and accountability. John Washington III asked how many citizens even know what is being voted on when decisions could raise their property tax bills, and why the people are not made fully aware of those decisions. "You cannot stand in front of cameras during election season claiming you're fighting for the people, then get into office and ignore the very issues affecting their everyday lives," he wrote.