Earlier in the summer when Indianapolis residents first received their property tax bills, I attempted to write an in-depth article explaining what the force behind the leap in price was.

I recently took a look back at that article and came across a quote from an area resident-Rich Bees. Even though it was obvious that he was furious with the percentage that his property taxes rose, he mentioned that maybe this was a "wake-up call" for citizens of Indianapolis. He continued by saying, "I mean, we elect these people."

Property taxes aside (even though they obviously will never be aside), Bees made a great point that entirely too many people who pay attention to politics often overlook-the impact of local politics.

In his editorial in Intake two weeks ago, local journalist Neal Taflinger made the point that, unless you're a member of the military or the family member of military personnel, the decisions that good old G Dubya makes will not have any immediate impact on your day to day life.

And why, do you ask, are so many local writers bringing up the subject of local politics? Because there is an ELECTION coming up. I have been surprised at how many people are not even aware of this event.

Tuesday, November 6, is Municipal Election day. While the first definition that appears for the word municipal in the dictionary describes it as "of or pertaining to a town or city and its local government," I think I prefer the archaic definition more: "pertaining to the internal affairs of a state or nation rather than to international affairs."

Don't get me wrong-I understand a person's need to look at the entire world and wish things were different. I am sure we all have a soft spot in our hearts for U2's Bono.

But not Bono, George Bush, or even our Federal State Congressional members can do much to change things like property taxes-or other issues that hit close to home on a daily basis.

In Indianapolis' case, almost everything that has happened to stir residents up in the past year is a direct result of COLLECTIVE decisions made by the Governor, the General Assembly and-yes-local municipal governments, which includes city-county council members and the mayor and his gang. There is no one finger to point. But there is something you can do.

Research. Then vote.

The Gazette has attempted to put together a field guide for readers with a list of local politicians and their competitors for the upcoming election. It would be in the best interest of anyone who feels politicians struck a bad chord this year to look into what these people have actually done in the past and what their hopeful competitors plan to do in the future.

And I beg you-look at issues beyond strictly property taxes. As Rich Bees said, maybe the property tax issue was a good wake-up call for residents. Maybe since it struck so hard in the pocketbook, it will be the warning signal that it can mean much more to be informed on all forms of local governments, neighborhood associations included.

-AP