Page 30 - Sonoma County Gazette - May, 2018

Protecting Democracy
“Many Americans are justifiably frightened by what is happening
to our country. But protecting our democracy requires more than just fright or outrage. We must learn from other countries to see the warning signs...We must be aware of the
fateful missteps that have wrecked other democracies. And we must see how citizens have risen to meet the great democratic crises of the past, overcoming their own deep-seated divisions to avert breakdown. History doesn’t repeat itself. But it rhymes. The promise of history, and the hope of How Democracies Die, is that we can find
Last week a few hundred of us came out in the drizzle to attend a presentation hosted by the “Eldridge Committee” on April 16 at Dunbar School.
the rhymes before it is too late.”
Unfortunately that’s almost the same as saying we don’t want it used.
The State retained the services of design company Wallace Root and Todd to assess the condition of the infrastructure. WRT presented their work to the Community Action Committee, a group of “stakeholders” from various agencies and nonprofits, but progress was delayed by the fires. Now the report has been made, though still not available to the public, and it’s not a moment
too soon, because we’ve now been informed that we have only 60 days to present a plan to the State Assembly budget process.
~ Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsy By Suze Cohan
On Friday, May 18th, Occidental Center for the Arts is proud to present an Evening with Daniel Ziblatt, Harvard Professor of Government and co-author of international bestseller, How Democracies Die. Daniel is an Occidental native, born and raised, and attended Harmony Elementary School. Its former multi-purpose room is now the Performing Arts Center. What
Daniel Ziblatt photo by Stephanie Mitchell
“We think of democracies as dying at the hands of men with guns,” they write, “but more often, they die at the hands of elected leaders who maintain
a veneer of democracy while eviscerating its substance. People do not immediately realize what is happening.” “Ultimately, American democracy depends on us—the citizens of the United States. No single political leader can end a democracy; no single leader can rescue one, either. Democracy is a shared enterprise. Its fate depends on all of us.”
30 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 5/18
An old Clyesdale will have to be transformed into a racehorse to reach the goal. Meanwhile business interests are lurking in the wings, and the “business advisors” for the community plan decline to be named.
more fitting tribute to Harmony School than to invite Daniel back, now an esteemed professor for a visit to his hometown, with an international best seller in hand! Although on book tours throughout the US and Europe in addition
to his teaching schedule, Daniel gladly accepted our invitation a few months ago to come speak. His only other speaking engagements in California at
this time will be Tuesday, May 15th in Danville, and Wed, May 16th at the
The primary intent of the plan that was unveiled by the Eldridge Committee is to protect most of the land as open space.
Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Together Professors Ziblatt and Levitsy
Working with the Sonoma Land Trust, the Sonoma Ecology Center and Glen Ellen Historical Society, the Committee recommends that the centerpiece from the front gate to the cemetery become a historical district with a museum and a library at SDC.
The Glen Ellen Forum (http://glenellenca.org/sdceldridge-transition/) took shape in response to the State’s decision to close the Center, clearly hoping to forestall commercial development of that gorgeous property so close to their home. Public sentiment around here agrees. We just don’t want that property, so long-dedicated to the care of the young and the feeble, to go commercial. We don’t want the noise and the traffic. We don’t want fields of cement replacing green lawns, or vineyards with an “events center”. We don’t want Eldridge to become an enclave for the rich.
have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America. Daniel studies Europe from the nineteenth century to the present specializing in the study of European politics, state-building, democratization
Personally, I’d like to see that land address some of our needs here.
and historical political economy. He is the author of Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy (2017) . Levitsy’s research focuses on Latin America and the developing world., and is the author of Competitive Authoritarianism. Drawing on a wide range of historical and global examples, from1930’s Europe to contemporary Hungary, Turkey and
We need affordable housing desperately. We’ve needed it for years, but in October the fires, which took 183 homes in Glen Ellen alone, drove the point home. Now everyone is looking for houses, and houses are already sprouting, but prices are going up and mansions are in the works too, and one wonders whether the whole of Sonoma County is going to become even more gentrified, a Carmel for vacationers escaping the plastic boxes of Silicon Valley.
So many are homeless. People like you and me, young and old, families with children and pets are on the streets with nowhere to go. Most lost their homes with no fault of their own. Many are disabled. I can tell you Social Security and disability do not cover the rents anymore.
Venezuala to the American south during Jim Crow, Ziblatt and Levitsky show how democracies die-and how ours can be saved. They have both written for Vox and the New York Times.
And what about food? We need to start growing food again, but that’s impossible so long as young farmers can’t afford to buy land! We are going to need – we already need – sources of organic food closer to home. But we are only growing wine.
The evening will begin at 7 pm in OCA’S main auditorium with a talk
and selected readings from the book. A vigorous Q&A will follow, with book sales and signing. Admission is $5.00 and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. We recommend advanced tickets as this event will most probably sell out. For advanced sales, go to https://www.brownpapertickets. com/event/3393810. There will be a reception following, with wine and beer for sale, and light refreshments by donation. OCA is accessible to people with disabilities. For more information, please call (707) 874-9392 or occidentalcenterforthearts.org
Then there’s the question of the price of the property itself. Taxpayers paid $53,000 for it way back in 1880. Can you imagine its value now? When the State says it wants community input and that the property won’t be sold, what kind of financial arrangement is it going to require? So far I haven’t heard a figure.
But has the community really spoken?
I worked on a proposal to create an eco-community at Eldridge. I love the idea, it makes a whole lot of sense and could be gorgeous. But the problem is money.
Just to keep that property in what is known as “warm” closure will cost something like $11 million dollars a year.
Fixing or replacing the worn out infrastructure, upgrading some of the buildings and demolishing the rest, getting permits to build houses and other facilities, paying for new construction, and keeping the whole operation going – I can’t even imagine the costs.
What looked like a delicious plum ready for picking is turning
out to be an albatross in disguise. What sounded so simple to me, an eco- community at the base of Sonoma Mountain embraced by beautiful wild land, is a lot more complex than I ever imagined. We need a benign Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation to come in and fund a completely sustainable and affordable housing project there. I wish!