Corruption is more possible at this tier. Here is how to stop it!
In Glimpse of our Future Democracy, I envisioned what TDG governance could look like in a city of 100,000 people.
This TDG has three tiers. This link explains the Neighborhood (lowest) Tier.
This link explains the District (middle) Tier
This article explains how the City Council (third) tier works.
Responsibility & Authority
Before I get into details, I should mention (again) that each TDG will design itself. The structure I envision might be almost exact to what the TDG builders create. It might be somewhat close. Or it might even be different. As long as the TDG builders follow the four salient features of TDG governance, they can create their own TDG.
This City Council tier, would have similar responsibility and authority of a modern city council of a city of this size. It would take care of water & sewer, streets, police force, public transit, finance, etc. It would discuss and pass new municipal laws to keep the city functioning well.
The Council will set up the various committees for the different operations of the city. Each of the 60 district representatives will sit on three of these committees to discuss these operations. The committees will probably get into deeper details of these operations that the Council can afford time for.
But the Council will have the final say because it has the bigger picture. So the committees are more of an advisory nature. However, the Council could feel a particular committee is strong enough to make the decision, so it can grant this responsibility. In this sense, the TDG is a unitary system of governance, where authority and responsibility flows from the top tier. The top tier has the right to delegate downward — or keep the committees as “advisory.”
Election of the Council
The Glimpse article gives this structure for the City Council. It suggests 10 councilors. Only the 60 district representatives will be eligible to vote. And only these 60 will be eligible to be voted for. The elections are annual.
Before the ballots are handed out, the current Council or Advisory Board will give a short presentation on the importance of voting for good character and capacity for governance. Even though the 60 district representatives are experienced TDGers and have heard similar presentations over the years, the presentation will be a good reminder of the nature of TDG elections.
Then each district representative will be given a ballot with the names of the 60 district representatives. Each district representative will be allowed to place up to 10 x’s on the names he/she believes deserves to be on the City Council. The ballots are collected. Votes are counted. The 10 names that received the most votes become the City Council for the next year.
Corruption in the City Council
In the Neighborhood Tier essay, I discuss how it would be impossible for a political party to form and run its own people in the 500 neighborhoods in this city. And I also discussed how it would be difficult for a neighborhood representative to pay off a favor to a neighbor in exchange for a vote.
In the District Tiered essay, I discussed how the non-partisan nature of the neighborhood representatives would not likely turn partisan at the district level. And I also discussed how favors are unlikely to be exchanged for a vote for the district representative.
So at these two levels, corruption is not likely. The TDG system makes favor exchanges next-to-impossible. I have asked readers to explain how this can happen in the TDG; no one has taken on this challenge.
But I can see a possibility for corruption to occur at the Council elections. Do you see it? Maybe read the Glimpse article again to figure out the angle before reading on.
Let me explain. Let’s assume that 10 district representatives all want to be on the City Council. So they hold a secret meeting before the election, promising to vote for each other. So each will get at least 10 votes, which puts them in contention for the Council positions. Because the other 50 district representatives do not know about this faction forming, some of their votes will go will go to members of the faction. I can see how at least seven members of the faction will find their way into the Council. Maybe all 10.
Do we want this? How do we engineer around this?
A Cultural Solution
The TDG City Council will not be built overnight. When it assumes responsibility of water and sewers, police force, etc., it will have acquired the culture for voting for good character and capacity for governance.
The Faction of 10 will recognize that their rise to district representatives came from their good character and capacity for governance, not because they made some special deals or ran a great election campaign. It will be hard for them to break from the TDG culture and change mindset to game the system to acquire power for themselves.
Another Cultural Solution: Citizens’ Silent Revolt
If the Faction of 10 is elected, the secret will no longer be secret. If 10 of the 60 ballots are voting exactly the same way, this would not been seen as a coincidence. The other 50 district representatives will see the pattern. The media will see the pattern. Enough of the public will see the pattern. No one need say: “These 10 people have gamed the system.” People will figure this out.
Let’s assume the Faction of 10 does take over the Council. They can make all the decisions. Maybe they have a political agenda to fulfill. Maybe they will use city funds for themselves.
But the TDG has staggered elections between the tiers. Six months after the Council election, the TDG constitution will stipulate the election of the district representatives. Remember, the neighborhood representatives in each district will be voting for their district representative. Enough neighborhood representatives will know about the “same ballots” issue and deem it unacceptable for TDG governance. If they have a Council member as their district representative, they need only vote for someone else at their district election.
When a Council member loses his/her district representative position, that Council member will still be allowed to serve the remainder of the term (six months). But that member will no longer be eligible to be voted for at the next Council election.* If four of the Faction of 10 lose their district position, the faction loses its ability to re-elect itself at the next Council election.In essence, the annual TDG elections are a check-and-balance.
As well, there will likely be enough citizens to recognize the Faction of 10 is a threat to TDG governance. If their neighborhood representative is also a member of the Faction of 10 and now a Council member, some neighbors too will cast their vote to someone else. In other words, most of the Faction of 10 will lose both their district and neighborhood positions.
Think about that. One year after the Faction of 10 wins the Council, most of that faction will have been quietly removed from the TDG. There was no need for finger-pointing drama or legal proceedings. Just mention that 10 ballots were the same — and those 10 members are now the Council. Not all, but enough voters will decide that this faction needs to be removed — for the simple reason that the faction has violated the spirit of TDG governance. And TDG voters do that by voting for someone else. Quietly. Patiently. Decisively.
Future power seekers will remember the humiliation of the Faction of 10.
*The Glimpse article assumes that Council members also hold district and neighborhood representative positions. As this TDG is constructed, the Council member can manage these three political positions. If other TDGs create a different design, that design should have some structural mechanisms to discourage factions. But more important is the cultural mechanism that eschews factions and campaigning. Voters need to vote against these western democratic techniques. An important task of the early TDG builders to teach voters to vote for good character and capacity.
When I posted this solution on Medium, one critic mentioned that the Faction of 10 would quickly change the rules to ensure success in the next election. I assured the critic that TDG constitutions require approval of the citizens to make amendments. It would be difficult for the Faction of 10 to get this support. In fact, their attempts to amend or ignore the constitution would bring attention to their intentions.
Another Cultural Solution: TDG Advisory Board
The Advisory Board will also know about the “same ballots” issue. The election of the Faction of 10 is a signal to the TDG Advisory Board that the TDG elections are not working as well as they should. The Board will likely be proactive to do what it can to prevent this from happening again.
The Board might enhance its messaging to the voters to vote for good character and capacity. That messaging could also include education about factions and campaigning. The messaging could focus on the 10 neighborhoods who elected the Faction of 10 as their neighborhood representative.
Similarly, the Board need not be involved in naming names or investigating or impeaching. It would only be reminding the citizens of the nature of TDG elections. But its messaging will have more effort and wisdom than in past years.
In essence, the Advisory Board will reinforce what other citizens have already figured out. The Faction of 10 needs to be removed. Quietly. Patiently. Decisively.
For those readers who believe the advisory board can be gamed by the Faction of 10, let me say that the Advisory Board mostly runs itself. The Council cannot overrule the advisors in their advisory duties. While the Faction of 10 might be able to appoint one of their people into the top tier of the Advisory Board, this one person will not be able to make big changes to keep the Faction of 10 in power. And I recommend that the term of office for an advisor, at all the advisory tiers, is three years. It will be hard for the Faction of 10 to put enough of their people into advisory positions to reverse the faction’s inevitable removal.
A Structural Solution: Changing the Ballot from 10 to 3
Rather than marking off 10 x’s on the Council ballot, maybe 3 x’s are appropriate. In this way, the Faction of 10 can only vote for three of their members. Three positions on the Council will not give them the power they are looking for. The three positions would not be able to reward the other seven for their loyalty. Methinks the Faction of 10 would not bother forming under this kind of ballot.
One advantage if this 3-x ballot is that it would be easier to count than a 10-x ballot.
Another Structural Solution: Grouping the Districts
This TDG could elect the Council in the same way the neighborhood representatives elect the district representatives. Six nearby districts will be grouped together. The six district representatives will vote, from amongst themselves, for their Council representative. It will be hard for any Council representative to reward his/her the other district representatives to get their voters. It will be hard for the Faction of 10 to vote for their allies.
Another advantage of this system is that all parts of the City will be represented at the Council. The election from the 60 district representatives could yield the Council coming from a few parts of the city, with other parts not having a close association with the city.
Another Cultural Solution: Position in the TDG
There will be citizens who have a flair for TDG governance. They will enjoy their TDG meetings and solving problems. The atmosphere will be more congenial than what western democracy offers, so the people with TDG flair will want to stay in the TDG for a long time. Nothing wrong with that if they are who the TDG voters want.
If the flair TDGers have acquired a high position in the TDG, they will not risk losing it by building an alliance or engaging in corruption that could get them thrown out. They know the TDG elections work quietly, patiently, and decisively.
Conclusion
The temptation to create a Faction of 10 might not be there by the time this TDG matures.
And there are structural ways to minimize this possibility. Several solutions have been offered in this essay. There may be other structural solutions.
The early TDG builders should focus on cultural mechanisms to prevent factions from happening.
Each TDG will design itself. We will learn from successes and failures. We will find that innovative, effective structure and culture.
Published on Medium 2026
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