Title: 
Headings: 

Content: It is the level of government closest to the people and the easiest to influence by engaged voters, and arguably it is the most important level of government. The Upside-Down Pyramid clearly illustrates why local government may not be functioning as well as the public perceives it is if they are not paying attention. • It is critically important that local voters weed out unqualified candidates before they are ever elected. If this does not happen, then the citizens are left with an inefficient local government that in the name of causes like misguided or misunderstood conservatism instead of common sense conservatism, or other political ideologies, waste their tax dollars through bad business decisions, inefficiency and petty behavior. In addition, unethical and sometimes illegal hiring decisions made by unqualified elected officials then result in the hiring of even more unqualified personnel into critical positions, which can cripple the operations of the organization. If everyone who ran for local government office was well qualified to serve, the Upside-Down Pyramid would not be an issue. But unfortunately, it’s often a “roll of the dice” on who gets elected. What is desperately needed is a more engaged and informed ele