QUICK, WHAT IS THE NAME OF YOUR CONGRESSMAN?

BRYCE ON GOVERNMENT

- And how about your other government officials?

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Let's take a little quiz. See if you can name the following government officials (answer only those positions applicable to your area):

MUNICIPAL LEVEL
- Your Mayor
- Your City Manager
- Your Chief of Police
- Your City Clerk

COUNTY LEVEL
- Your Commissioners
- Your Superintendent of Schools
- Your Sheriff
- Your Tax Collector
- Your Property Appraiser

STATE LEVEL
- Your Governor
- Your Lieutenant Governor
- Your Attorney General
- Your State Senator
- Your House Representative

FEDERAL LEVEL
- Your President
- Your Vice President
- Your Secretary of State
- Your Chief of the Supreme Court
- Your Speaker of the House
- Your President of the Senate
- The Senators from your state
- Your House Representative

Okay, maybe you got a handful right, and maybe you cheated by looking them up on the Internet, but surprisingly many people do not know who their duly elected officials are, be it at the federal, state, county, or municipal level. Then again, maybe it's not surprising as most people are rather apathetic about their officials thereby allowing them to have their way with the public. If you have a question or want to voice a criticism, it would make sense to at least know who your officials are. Whether you voted for the person or not, or of your party or not, your officials have a responsibility to represent you. After all, they were elected to work for you, not the other way around (which is why I listed the officials as "Your").

Fortunately, there are some good Internet addresses available to you to track down your officials:

U.S. House of Representatives - you must supply your zip code, assuming you know it.

U.S. Senators - again you have to know that pesky zip code.

My favorite site though is "Contacting the Congress" which is a comprehensive listing of all of your representatives in one place.

You might also want to have your children take the same quiz and test their knowledge about their government officials. Better yet, check your basic knowledge of the world around you is the Pew Research Center - The News IQ Quiz.

Check it out. If you didn't score well, perhaps it's time for you to either brush up on your general knowledge of "Your" Government or burn your voter registration card.

Keep the Faith!

Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

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Copyright © 2013 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

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