From Kleptocracy to Democracy: How Citizens Can Take Back Local Government

by Fred Smoller

Overview

From Kleptocracy to Democracy: How Citizens Can Take Back Local Government provides students with a critical examination of the large-scale political corruption that looted Bell, California between 1993 and 2010. For 17 years, some city officials paid themselves more than a million dollars a year, using the police department as a "for profit" vehicle for collecting fines, and issuing over $100 million in bonds. They turned the city into their own private cash machine

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781516571499
Publisher:	Cognella Inc.
Publication date:	08/08/2018
Pages:	276
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

Editorial Reviews

"BASTA's success was possible because Latino and Lebanese immigrants joined forces to take their city back and end decades of corruption. Together they ensured Rizzo and others were convicted, tax dollars were returned, and sunshine and transparency became the norm. BASTA shows that the narrative that immigrants or people of color from working class communities don't care or aren't smart enough to run their own government or are bad for our democracy is completely false. Fred Smoller's Kleptocracy to Democracy well-captures this important story."
Cristina Garcia
BASTA co-founder
Member of the California State Assembly District 58

"This is a fascinating chronicle of government gone wrong and how it was set right. Very well written and engaging for all kinds of readers. More important, it shows how ordinary citizens (including students) can reestablish democracy in their local government."
Earl Babbie, Chapman University
Campbell Professor Emeritus in Behavioral Sciences
6th President of California Sociological Association
75th President of Pacific Sociological Association

"If you now pay little attention to your local government, you should read this book. Fred Smoller will convince you not to make that mistake again!"
Bruce Buchanan
Professor of Government, Emeritus
University of Texas at Austin

"Fred Smoller's recounting of a shocking breach of public trust by city officials in Bell, California, is a true public service. No matter where you live, you should read about what this group of 'public servants' did to a small, working-class city. It came about, Smoller explained, because few people paid attention to their government. It's a warning for us all. But you should also read it for its uplifting message. A group of young and diverse Bell residents, through tireless activism and discovery of civic virtue, have since turned the city into a model of open government. Smoller's book retells the story in a compelling and thorough way."
Steven Greenhut, Western Region Director of the R Street Institute and Columnist

From the Publisher