Tomorrow is Election Day. People Like Us Need to Make It Earth Day Too.

Some cynics don't think voting matters. They're wrong. It matters a lot. Especially local elections.

Because the pool of votes is smaller, each vote is magnified. Your vote literally counts for more. Because the elected official is a neighbor and governs from City Hall or the Courthouse instead of Austin or Washington, they're more directly accountable for their decisions. In many ways, local elections are the closest we come these days to what our founders believed all elections should be about.

That's why folks like us need to be more involved with them. Local elections are more susceptible to the determined energy of insurgents. They take less money to win and shoe leather passion can beat big bank accounts. They're winnable with the resource we have, or can realistically raise. They don't necessarily produce a final victory outright, but they can help you get there sooner than you would otherwise.

As it happens, that's exactly the same pragmatic philosophy behind Downwinders at Risk's emphasis on local organizing in North Texas. The more local it is, the more muscle we have. 

But there's a huge disconnect between the feel-good, big-tent well-attended local festivals that surround Earth Day events now and the way those same festival crowds vote on Election Day a few weeks later. We need to change that.

That's why Downwinders at Risk and its 501c3 Education Fund are both spending money and effort on educating voters about the Dallas City Council election this cycle. Although gas drilling isn't officially on the ballot, it's what's at stake. Will Dallas follow the now-familiar path of being ridiculously subservient to the oil and gas industry, or can citizens force it to stake out a different course that's more balanced? Right now Dallas is front and center in the North Texas gas counter revolution. That's why we're there.

So far, citizens have won every round, despite the combined forces of the Dallas Citizens Council, City Hall, and the industry working against them. But those victories could be be temporary depending on tomorrow's electoral outcome. The Mayor has cynically put off the final vote on the Trinity East gas permits until he sees if he has an even more pro-drilling council to override the City Plan Commission denial.

If you live in a Dallas city council district with a competitive race, we strongly urge you to vote. We've publicized a breather's guide to the best candidates on the drilling issue that includes, Claudia Meyer in District 3, Philip Kingston in District 14, Scott Griggs in District 1, Leland Burk in District 13 and Adam Medrano in District 2. If you haven't volunteered your time or given money to any of these candidates it's too late now, but everything will be forgiven if you turnout and vote your passion tomorrow.

D Magazine, published by a principled disciple of William F. Buckley and catering to a demographic several tax brackets above ours, is running an on-line survey of Dallas city politics on the eve of Election Day. One of the questions they're asking is whether drilling should be allowed in urban areas. Last time we looked there was a resounding 75% "No!" in response. And yet, most members of the Dallas City Council actually are OK with not only drilling in Dallas, but drilling in parks, flood plains and putting refineries next to schools and huge recreation centers. There may be no other issue in recent memory where Dallas City Hall was more out of sync with its residents. That has got to change if we're going to win the war and not just the battles.

And the grassroots movement has to embrace and become skilled with the tool of local electoral politics. That's why, in the coming months, Downwinders at Risk will be exploring the creation of a Political Action Committee, or (PAC), focused exclusively on strategic local, North Texas races. It's time we got more involved in helping to decide who the deciders will be.

Meanwhile, do your part tomorrow to make Election Day Earth Day.