National politics is Hollywood for ugly people. It's a distraction, and you can tell that by how much press it gets and how much of your own time goes into talking, thinking, arguing, and tweeting about it. Nothing in Washington affects you and your family's daily life like the following people, and most of us can't name a single one of them: Mayor City council members City manager City attorney and city clerk Planning and zoning commission School board members Superintendent Chairman of the county board of supervisors County supervisors Sheriff County attorney County assessor County treasurer County recorder and clerk of court Justice of the peace and constable They set your property taxes, decide what gets built next door, how your schools are run, and control your sheriff's office. They decide whether your street gets fixed, what your kids learn, which books end up in the library, and how fast the cops show up. They decide who gets a permit and who gets denied, whether that apartment complex goes up behind your house, and what the zoning is on the lot next to yours. They decide what your water bill looks like, how your fire department is funded, and where the new roads, parks, and stoplights go. They decide who gets to open a business on your block, who runs your elections and how they're run, and who the prosecutor goes after and who gets a pass. They decide how your tax dollars get spent, and they will have more impact on your life than any national election or any argument you ever win on Twitter. Not a single mind has ever been changed because someone tweeted something about national politics.