TL;DR
Someone approved a $15 million no-bid contract to paint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool “American Flag blue” and now it’s swampy algae green.
Bad decisions about public money aren’t just a Washington problem; they happen at every level of government.
The officials and local leadership who can stop it, county commissions, water boards, city councils, are elected by you, and NDTC can help you run against them. For free.
We (taxpayers) just paid $15 million to paint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool dark blue. Then it turned green anyway. What was supposed to be a two-week renovation with a fresh coat of “American flag blue” on the pool floor is not so simple anymore as the project has now been extended to two months. National Park Service workers have been dumping hydrogen peroxide into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in a futile attempt to kill the algae. And this whole meme-worthy financial fiasco is, of course, funded by us, the taxpayers.
Leave aside all the obvious ways in which this was a terrible idea, like, say, how painting the pool a dark color in a climate known for hot weather is maybe not how you stop algae, for starters: Where is the accountability?
Someone had to approve that project. Someone signed off on the timeline, the budget, and the no-bid contract. The choices to ignore any ethical considerations and all common sense that turned the pool green came from the people in the room calling the shots. The Green Eggs and Ham-ification of a major monument might be playing out on the national stage, but the same decisions that landed us here are happening all over the country.
In most states, soil and water conservation district supervisors are elected officials. This is the office that should be consulted before dumping hydrogen peroxide into a national landmark. County commissioners have the power to control and approve contracts. This would be helpful in ensuring that a backdoor deal to your “pool guy” with an exorbitant bill doesn’t dent your hometown’s finances. City Council members set the policies that govern public infrastructure. They’re the ones who should be asking whether a highly expensive renovation actually makes sense before the contract is signed. Water board members, elected in many communities, oversee the systems that keep water clean and functional. They are supposed to be that check.
It’s easy to assume these offices are held by distant bureaucrats. They are not. They are filled by your neighbors, and those neighbors are on your ballot. If you want to stop the spectacle, start there. Find out who holds these seats, what their values are, and whether they align with yours. If they don’t match, if you can do better, run for office. NDTC is here to give you the campaign training and tools to actually make that happen, for free.
NDTC has trained over 128,000 Democrats since 2016. Our free courses, live training, and guided programs exist to get you ready to run and win at every level of government. We’ll walk you through every step of launching a campaign from scratch. Whether you’re figuring out which office to run for or ready to start, we are here. Because the Reflecting Pool is a $15 million reminder of why every elected office is worth running for.
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