> for something that most of them didn't really care for or want to begin with The evidence in the article seems to support the opposite. The only actual vote

> for something that most of them didn't really care for or want to begin with The evidence in the article seems to support the opposite. The only actual vote (that was discussed in the article) showed that the majority did want it. Moreover your role as an honest politician, is to figure out how to improve the average persons life and advocate for that position. That position is not always (and is in fact frequently not) a position of inaction. I highly doubt that the author (or anyone else, except perhaps someone running a municipal broadband contractor) has gone into municipal politics advocating for municipal broadband with the idea that it's going to be a direct net gain for them. As you suggest, the amount of time you have to put into it far exceeds your personal benefit. People like this almost always do it because they believe that this is the best course of action for the public good, not their own.