Cutting the corruption even more
In the previous essay of this series, I discussed the nature of the TDG neighborhood representative. I posited that this lowest-tier TDG position is incorruptible for several reasons.
The TDG Neighborhood Representative
This essay will focus on the next tier: the district. In Glimpse of Our Future Democracy, I hypothesize that a city of 100,000 people will have 60 districts. We will now look at one of those districts, called District #17. It has eight neighborhoods.
District #17 should meet once a month. The eight neighborhood representatives have the voting rights to make decisions within their jurisdiction. There might be a member of the advisory board or special guests attending.
Here are some issues the district might discuss:
1. Maybe there are some parking issues in a couple of neighborhoods.
2. Maybe another couple of neighborhoods need some extra police patrols.
3. Maybe District #17 could use a branch of the city library — and it will continue to lobby for that library.
4. Maybe there are water/sewer repairs, and the district can communicate between the civil service and residents to ensure the disruptions are minimal.
The district will be the voice of the people. When dealing with the City Council or the civil service, the voice of the district should be more effective than the voices of individual citizens or neighborhood representatives. The City Council should give attention the voice of the district.
As well, I suggest that the City Council give each district an allowance for the district to spend on its own volition. Maybe there is some playground equipment that needs repair. Maybe the local animal shelter needs a financial boost. When the eight representatives agree where this allowance goes, the funds move in that direction — without the approval of the City Council or the civil service.
In essence, the district allowance gives the neighborhood representatives some experience in governance. These community leaders would not get this experience in western democracy.
Election of the District Representative
At the meetings of District #17, the eight neighborhood representatives will be getting to know each other. They will see how each handles governance. There will likely be informal chats after the formal meeting is over. The formal and informal meetings will be useful in the next task of the neighborhood representatives.
Once a year, the eight neighborhood representatives must elect one, from amongst themselves, as their district representative.
Like the neighbors being reminded to vote for good character and capacity for governance as the neighborhood representative, the neighborhood representatives will be reminded similarly in the election of the district representative.
And remember, the TDG is about tiered, indirect elections. The residents in District #17 do not vote for the district representative. Most residents will not know enough about the viable contenders to cast a wise vote. Rather, the eight neighborhood representatives are in a much better position: they have some first-hand insights about the viable contenders because they have worked with these people. The eight neighborhood representatives will vote more wisely than the residents can vote.
When the election of district representative is conducted, I suggest that the ballot consist only of the names of the eight neighborhood representatives. Each neighborhood representative will place his/her X by the preferred name.
The ballots can be opened and counted in that district meeting that convenes the election. Conducting the vote and count should take about 15 minutes. If there is a tie vote, the local TDG constitution should have a rule about handling that tie vote. The “winner” will serve one year as the district representative.
Remember that this district representative gained the approval of enough neighborhood representatives. And these neighborhood representatives have displayed some degree of good character and capacity for governance to their own neighbors. It is almost as if “good” people will be voting for one of the “better” among them.
And I am hoping that the employers of the district representatives will grant them a few working liberties to serve in the TDG. These employers should realize that they have an effective person in their employment.
Duties of the District Representative
The district representative will have more duties than the neighborhood representative. I estimate the time requirement is increased from 20 hours a month to 40. District representatives will be busier, but I think many of them will enjoy this work. If they don’t, they most likely will not get elected again.
BTW, I recommend a small stipend for each meeting attended by neighborhood and district representatives. But the district representatives need to make most of their income outside the TDG.
The City Council will set up committees to guide the various departments of the City. I suggest that the district representative find three city committees — like policing, street repair, zoning, recreation, etc. — to serve. Each committee will meet monthly. That means three committee meetings and the district meeting for the district representative will entail four official meetings a month.
Each committee will have four to 10 district representatives. There should be one member of the Council and relevant leaders in the civil service. A TDG advisor could be an occasional visitor.
Most of these committees will be advisory to the City Council because the City Council has more of the bigger picture. But the City Council may allow some committees to have decision-making authority.
Because the district representatives are serving on different committees, they are bringing different insights and perspectives from one committee to the others. For example, if Bob is serving on the policing, library, and sewage plant committees, he might see connections between these three parts of the city. Sally would be seeing the similar connections while serving on the library, legal, and transit system committees. By having the library committee as a common committee, Bob and Sally would be informally gaining information on the committees they do not serve on. By serving on three committees, the 60 district representatives are linking different parts of city operations together. By serving on the district meetings, the 60 district representatives are linking their knowledge back to the citizens. And the citizens, through the neighborhood representatives, are giving their feedback. Information moves up, down, around — in a very organic way.
Serving as the district representative and the three committees is preparing the district representative for governance at the City Council. If a district representative is elected to the Council, the learning curve will not be so high.
Corruption of the District Representative
Critics of the TDG often claim the TDG will be corrupted because the overly ambitious people eventually find ways to corrupt the system. So there is no point in building a new democracy that claims to significantly reduce corruption.
Before I will go down the path of possible political corruption at the district TDG tier, I will bring up the neighborhood article again. One of its points is that it will be hard for political parties to organize at the neighborhood tier. Because the neighborhood representatives are not elected based on their partisanship or a campaign budget, they will be bringing a nonpartisan approach to their workings at the district level.
The TDG Neighborhood Representative
As stated earlier, the only voters are the eight neighborhood representatives. Only one of them can become the district representative. Seven will not get this “more powerful” position in the TDG.
If one neighborhood representative covets the district representative position and is willing to exchange favors to get a few votes from the seven, what can he/she really offer them in exchange?
The district representative does not have access to resources to give the neighborhood representatives anything tangible. No staffer positions. No government contracts. No easy influence to the civil service.
Remember, District #17 is the official institution in this TDG, not the district representative.
Here is the only corruption I can see. Maybe an ambitious neighborhood representative will promise another neighborhood representative to allocate some of that district allowance to a project in that neighborhood. So they have a private conversation that goes something like this: “Vote for me, and I’ll get your neighborhood playground fixed first.”
This promise would be difficult to fulfill directly because the district representative has only one of eight votes in this district. If the other representatives see this playground repair as not that necessary, they will vote it down. If they suspect a deal has been struck to get a vote, they are more likely to vote it down. The district representative will not find it easy to fulfill this election promise.
Not only that, the ambitious neighborhood representative will have to make similar deals with at least two more neighborhood representatives to get enough votes to be the district representative. If the ambitious is elected, he/she has too many difficult promises to keep. The next election is only a year away.
And not only that (again), the voting at the district level will be done by secret ballot. No one knows for sure who voted for whom. How can the ambitious representative be sure the favor was paid in advance?
And not only that (again), the culture of the TDG should be well established that if an ambitious neighborhood tries to make such a deal, he/she will not get enough votes to become the district representative. The probability to attain the district representative position will be greater by staying out of the secret deals.
And not only that (again), if District #17 gets a reputation for not conducting an election in the TDG spirit, such an individual is not likely to rise any higher. It is not likely District #17’s representative will be elected to the City Council.
And not only that (again), the Advisory Board will be watching. If they see the TDG spirit is not being followed in District #17, the Board will be conducting an education campaign toward wiser voting, in both the neighborhood and district elections. In time, District #17 will be electing a district representative more concerned with the community than personal advancement.
In case you missed my “again” points, there are several built-in safeguards to reduce corruption in the position for the district representatives.
Conclusion
The TDG has been criticized because it too will be corrupted like other systems. If you have read this far and still believe this, then explain to me how an overly ambitious neighborhood representative can get the district representative position by means other than his/her own merit?
Published on Medium 2026
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