John Washington III Asks Where the Fight Is From Politicians Who Claim to Work for the People

John Washington III is challenging politicians who campaign on working for the people to show the fight behind the words. In a written statement, John Washington III asked: "HOW CAN YOU CLAIM TO WORK FOR THE PEOPLE WHEN YOU NEVER FIGHT FOR THE PEOPLE?" Every election season, he wrote, voters hear the same promises — "I'M WORKING FOR THE PEOPLE!", "I'M FIGHTING FOR THE PEOPLE!", "I'M HERE TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE!" — and he asked: "BUT MY QUESTION IS, WHERE IS THE FIGHT?"

John Washington III pressed the point on police accountability. When police officers abuse their authority or engage in corruption, he asked, where are the politicians who claim to represent the people — why are they not fighting to hold corrupt officers accountable, and why are they not standing up for the citizens who put them in office?

John Washington III then turned to property taxes. Politicians always talk about lowering property taxes, he wrote, but never seriously discuss ending property taxes on the homes people own and live in. He asked why a family should spend 20 or 30 years paying off a home and then keep paying property taxes on that same home for the rest of their lives, and when the people actually get to own what they worked their entire lives to pay for. He also asked how a politician can campaign on lowering property taxes, get elected, and then vote for tax increases — and how many citizens even know what is being voted on when those votes happen. "WHERE IS THE TRANSPARENCY? WHERE IS THE ACCOUNTABILITY? WHERE IS THE REPRESENTATION?" he wrote.