My Madison neighbor Ashley Kenneth Allen posts on Facebook an anonymous letter he received relating to his public statements on conflicts of interest between the Lake Area Improvement Corporation and the Madison City Commission. The unsigned text reads as follows:
Hi Ashley,
Congratulations on all the nice writing and discovery work you are doing to keep us informed. Hope we can support you in a run for office someday. Know you will do a good job.
As you explore the "conflict of interest" regarding the LAIC maybe you should check out who their local attorney has been. Might find that interesting too. Best wishes. Keep up the good work [anonymous letter to Ashley Kenneth Allen, postmarked 2012.01.30, Sioux Falls, SD].
It shouldn't be a surprise that current city commissioner Dick Ericsson, who incorporated the LAIC in the 1990s and happily runs interference for its failures, probably also does some legal work for the organization.
The disappointing surprise is that the neighbor who writes this letter feels the need to remain anonymous. Many Madison residents (current and ex-pat) believe the Madison City Commission and LAIC run on principles of closed doors and crony capitalism. Many of us believe that changing Madison's stagnant business as usual requires wresting control away from the usual elites and engage everyone in fair and sensible policymaking and economic development. Folks in that camp know that Ashley Allen is a friend to that cause.
Yet folks in that camp don't trust Ashley Allen enough to share their name with him. What are you afraid of, people? Why can you not compliment an ally, discuss with that ally useful information, and then say, "By the way, here's my name and number; if you need help, call me"?
If we're going to convince new people to run for office and give Madison the shake-up it badly needs, we have to assure those people that they are not alone. Anonymous letters aren't just exaggerated games-playing ("oooh, I feel so sneaky outwitting Dick Ericsson! He'll never be able to throw me in Madison's gulag for saying this oh-so-naughty thing!"). Anonymous letters only perpetuate the isolation and suspicion that prevent the creation of an effective political movement.