In American politics, the government most often ignored is the government closest to home. Dane County is one such municipal victim. The county cannot conduct foreign policy, it cannot raise trillions of dollars in taxes, and it does not have an executive with the mystique of the president of the United States. Dane County government is the opposite of sexy.

Even worse, its executive branch, led by a popularly elected county executive ? currently Kathleen Falk ? is sexier than its legislative branch, the Dane County Board. At least Falk gets to advocate policies for the entire county, as one person, not as a member of a legislative body. Meanwhile, the county’s supervisors are usually unknown beyond their district, and it gets worse. Dane County’s 5th district is primarily made up of University of

Wisconsin students who typically don’t even know they have a county government, let alone a Dane County supervisor, nor do many of them end up voting.

You could call so much BS, but, unfortunately, the data proves this ?apathy rising? argument. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Dane County had an estimated population of 463,826 at the end of 2006. Divided by 37 supervisor districts, this yields about 12,500 constituents per supervisor. In Wisconsin, where 78 percent are registered to vote and 73 percent ended up voting in November 2004, you might expect to get comparable turnout for District 5 supervisor races, yielding a number in the 9,100 votes range. In reality, the Dane County Clerk’s Office reveals a number far lower: 600-700 votes. That means a maximum historical turnout of roughly 5.6 percent. Even worse, compare this turnout percentage to nonstudent district races, and we notice the fifth has the lowest turnout of all 37 districts.

Now, before I appear to be some arrogant ?elite? who realizes things about Dane County most other students could never even conceptualize, know this: I have the same habits as everyone else. The only reason I have ever heard of Dane County government is that I have a passion for local politics. However, on topics that don?t strike my interest, I remain completely ignorant and Dane County stays off the radar. Thus, I understand the ambivalence most of us have for Dane County government, as many students probably gain more utility by tuning out of county politics than by tuning in. Many don?t live in Dane County more than four years, so why should they care? Plus, Dane County is not even responsible for making buses run on time ?? that is the city?s job.

So why should we care about the Dane County Board race April 1? The sincere answer: for the same reason many of us care about federal and state politics. If you care about taxes and spending, the county has plenty of both. If you care about the environment, the county runs a landfill, manages land conservation and runs multiple clean lake and waste management programs. If you care about human services, the county deals with disability, child, mental health, nursing, senior, welfare and shelter services. It acts as a surrogate for many federal and state entitlement and welfare programs. If you care about economic development, zoning and urban development planning, the county does plenty of that as well. Furthermore, if you care about law enforcement, our justice system, corrections, the Sheriff?s Department, the District Attorney?s Office and the jail are also county controlled.

The point being, if many of us care enough about these issues to vote in federal and statewide elections, then shouldn?t we be enthusiastic about voting for District 5 supervisor? This local race even has the unique advantage of what should be very accessible candidates ? assuming they follow the proven Ald. Eli Judge model of accessibility ? where students can have far more personal contact with their representation than with some legislator or the U.S. president. In fact, in a world where action is the ultimate test of belief, going nuts over Super Tuesday while not caring about the election for Dane County Board makes us seem like a bunch of insincere frauds.

So, let the War on Apathy for Dane County begin. Give a shit about the County Board, make an informed decision and vote ? for the same reasons you will vote in the presidential primary ? April 1, for the District 5 Dane County supervisor.

David Lapidus ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in economics and mathematics.