6/13/08: Better than action flick and available at city hall

This summer’s blockbusters are just around the corner. Maybe, like me, you just saw "Iron Man," and are waiting for "The Dark Knight" to come out. You may be reading this waiting in line for "Indiana Jones" tickets.

I’m not the biggest fan of action movies, but I have seen "Gone in 60 Seconds" and a few of the "Fast and the Furious" movies. I’ve made it through "Braveheart" and more than a few movies based on comic book series.

I’m telling you this as proof of my credentials — so you’ll believe me when I say local politics are like an action movie, but better.

Take, for example, a meeting of the New Britain Common Council. I’ve attended a few of them. In addition to learning a lot and feeling the gratifying glow of knowing I’ve done my civic duty (though I live in Plainville, and so this is a false glow), I’ve found them incredibly entertaining.

I say "incredibly" because I’m anticipating some disbelief. I don’t blame you if you’re rolling your eyes or muttering "Yeah, right" as you read.

Budget meetings? Commissions? Complaints about potholes or blighted properties?

More exciting than an action movie?

But it’s true.

On New Britain’s council, there are 13 Democratic aldermen and two Republican aldermen. A Republican mayor leads the meetings. Party lines clearly divide the council as they discuss and render many of their decisions, making type-casting them into action hero and villain roles pretty easy.

The Democrats would be the traditional action-movie heroes. They’re diverse in age and ethnicity, yet they work together for a common goal. They speak in turn and use polite, political turns of phrase to get their points across, showing respect for even their political foes. The majority leader’s last name is — there’s no making this up — Trueworthy.

It’s easy to see the Democrats as the band of heroic friends, like the X-men or Robin Hood and his Merry Men — and women. Add a car chase and a few explosions, and it would be classic summer blockbuster material.

If you’re rooting for the other guys, the two Republican aldermen and the mayor could be a put-upon minority voice rising above a tyrannical common consensus to save the day.

Outcries against Democratic plots would become filibuster scenes in which the Republicans shame Dems into conceding their points. It’s more a "Stand and Deliver" type drama than a traditional action movie, but rousing all the same.

And it’s ours.

We don’t need to sit in cold, dark and sticky movie theaters to see this. We don’t need to buy whatever overpriced, fatty foods they decide to offer us. We don’t need to sit quietly, staring straight ahead.

Local politics are interactive.

We voted for (or against) the people sitting on our councils. We are affected by their decisions. And we can speak to them as a group at a public meeting, or we can call them individually at their offices.

My experience with contacting the aldermen on New Britain’s council — Democrat and Republican — has been unreservedly positive, and their concern for the voters of their districts, impressive.

Half the fun of this action-movielike plot is that we get to be a part of it. If we don’t like the way things are turning out, we can change them.

You can’t get that from "Gladiator" or "The Incredible Hulk."