Money Can Buy You "Love"

In today's Post, the article "Area Developers Draft a Cheering Section," discusses how suburban builders are creating "pro-project-specific" faux citizens groups to lobby for their projects. (Also see this piece, "'Mud and lies' generate response" from the Times Community Suburban Newspapers of Northern Virginia. Pretty interesting response from the "Citizens for Better Life" organizer as well as area residents...)

This is nothing new. The City Paper used to be full of stories about how developers and their land use bar representatives would bus in a hearing room full of supporters who were paid for their attendance, and support of the developer position.

Money for community amenities, block parties, and the like, even "green love" or petty donations (bribes?) make their way around various DC neighborhoods.

The fact that the community amenities negotiating process around Zoning matters is under-defined and totally dependent upon the organizational and leadership capacity within a neighborhood means that many groups get negotiated out of their proverbial jockstraps, and they don't even know it....

And this of course doesn't even get into the fact that the most prominent donors to local political campaigns everywhere are developers.

In either instance, it merely proves my line "The great thing about the citizens of DC is that we sell ourselves for so little." Duke Cunningham at least got to live on a yacht.

Index Keywords: growth-machine, civic-engagement