Chuck Fleischmann Quotes

Almost all government starts at a very local level at some point.

You should absolutely get involved, especially those local politics like school board seats. That's really where America happens.

Real change begins with citizens registering to vote, becoming active and engaged in their communities, and casting their ballot at every election for those who will fairly and accurately represent them.

I think all politics is local.

A robust democracy requires active participation.

I think it's lovely when people are more involved in local politics.

Barack is at a level where he can't - no matter how much he wants to or how much we want him to - he's not going to come take out our garbage, so to speak. He can't be the garbage man and the president. He can't be the mayor and the alderman. He can't fill all those roles. So I always push for local, local activity on the political scene.

So few people vote these days, and I think it's partly because they don't feel like the institution really means anything to them. If you want them to vote, give them opportunities to do something else other than vote, to help.

You have the biggest impact on controlling, on affecting local lives as mayor. It's so much more important than being a state legislator.

All politics is local.

The way to get people civically engaged, not just during the election but throughout the year, is to tap into Facebook and let them do it with their friends.

Mr. Speaker, democracy works best when the American electorate is engaged and informed.

You need to remind people that you vote, you matter, and that they can't succeed without your help.

In democracy, every election is a learning process. You learn from every election, the one that you win and the one that you lose. And then you prepare for the next one.

My philosophy is not a bean-counting, accounting 'look at this.' It is a philosophy that smaller government is better government, and government that is closer to the people is best of all.

I really don't have a lot of interest in national politics, and it's because I'm a skeptic. I think you can accomplish a lot more locally. I don't want to spin the wheels and not get anything done.

A majority in all parties do, I think, want to see local government recover its old vigour and independence.

In most places in the country, voting is looked upon as a right and a duty, but in Chicago it's a sport.

As a citizen of a community, if you never vote or engage, don't be surprised when the outcome doesn't serve your interests; you've never done anything to push things in the right direction.

I can't vote again ever, so political party is not a relevant thing for me.

I happen to be one who believes very strongly that state and local governments have their proper roles.

Democracy should be home grown.

In Sacramento you simply had to think about what the law ought to be and leave it to someone else to implement. In San Francisco, you hear about it the next day.

Forget the polls and remember the people.

The more responsibility you can move toward local government, the better of you're going to be … City governments do better than their State governments in terms of accountability.