The Will of the People vs. Elected Officials, or

...The Return of the Parking Fairies?

Anchorage police officers could be taken out of the business of writing parking tickets downtown if a proposal that went before the Anchorage Assembly last week passes the Assembly and is approved by voters.

Backers of the proposal, which would apply to a limited section of downtown, contend it would give police more time to commit to more serious issues of law enforcement. But foes worry about what they see as the potential for a return to overly aggressive parking enforcement.

Sworn officers have been the only ones authorized to write parking tickets in Anchorage since voters mandated it in 1997 [emphasis added] after a vigorous debate that focused, in part, on whether officers' time was well spent enforcing parking. Only a voter-approved amendment to the city charter would once again allow meter readers to take over ticket writing downtown.

~ snip ~

The parking authority two decades ago was described by some as draconian for its strict ticket-writing all across town for everything from expired meters to expired registration. The authority's size and influence grew and angered residents, including two women who helped set in motion the citizen activism that led to the parking authority's downfall.

The Pacillo sisters -- who became known as the Anchorage parking fairies because of their fondness for pink tutus and wings -- held contests for the best stories about heavy-handed parking enforcement and paid parking tickets for the winners. They also roamed downtown putting coins in meters. (Read the rest at the link.)

The people already settled this. So you're going to put the same bureaucracy that abused it before, back in charge of the same program they proved they couldn't handle, before.

But THIS time the Assembly knows better.

This time, they assure us, there won't be such a heavy-handed approach by civilian bureaucrats, drunk with a little power.

 

This time, they assure us, it will be different.

 

Yeah, right. 

This time, we can assure them that the voters are likely to get more upset than before. The sleepy masses have awakened. And because getting elected to office doesn't make you wiser than you were before, but apparently it makes you think you are.

Not that this is a commentary on politics in general, at all levels. Of course not.