US News and World Report has Mission Viejo as one of the top 10 cities for political activity in the nation. The article also notes that it is the safest city in America. Coincidence ?
Other important factors that play into political participation are the quality of education in a community and the level of incomes. Cities on this list tend to be more educated and well off than nearby cities or the country as a whole. They also tend to be residential suburbs of cities with service-based economies. Those characteristics lead to greater political interest not only because wealthier people with children tend to care more about public affairs. Such interest also stems from the fact that prosperous, tight-knit communities are natural breeding grounds for political activity.
One other factor, mentioned by one of the community activists of Mission Viejo, is to have a “dysfunctional city council.” Yes, that does help. The comments on this local blog expand a bit on the city council’s role in stimulating political activism. I got interested in 2000 when I became aware of some very nasty campaign stunts funded by city vendors who were in cahoots with the then council majority. We had seen some questionable spending decisions, such as a very expensive city hall and a city library that was a showplace. The city council seemed to be under the impression that this was Beverly Hills. A couple of years later, they were outside, looking in.
Unfortunately, we all learned that Lord Acton knew what he was talking about when he said “Power Corrupts.” The new council members we had worked so hard to elect became almost as corrupt as the old group. Community activism took a nosedive for a while. The Tea Parties seem to be bringing it back to life.