Richard Tafel’s Empowering Civic Blueprint Set to Exhibit at Upcoming Book Festival at Printers Row

Longtime Ontario lawyer Richard Tafel is no stranger to politics. Lately, however, he has turned to publishing as his way of empowering citizens. The book is simply titled You Can Control Your Governments: How to restore real democracy to the citizen.

Drawing on his experience as an elected school trustee, political affiliation president, and global traveler, Tafel makes the case that true democratic reform lies in placing critical policy decisions more directly in the hands of the people.

You Can Control Your Governments contains his dedicated study as well as a roadmap for instituting citizen‑led referendums in Canada and the United States. It examines how town hall votes on major issuesfrom municipal infrastructure projects to provincial and federal legislationcan yield more responsive and accountable governance than party‑led agendas. By analyzing successful models of direct democracy around the world, Tafel shows how communities who vote on the issues that matter most experience higher civic engagement, stronger public trust, and more effective solutions.

Tafels legal career has given him an insiders perspective on the often‑invisible forces shaping policy: from bureaucratic freezes to the influence of special, big-money interests. His time as a school board trustee taught him the great upsides when constituents have a genuine say. Whether it is in funding decisions for local schools, libraries, or parks, he has seen the positive effects when they become invested stakeholders in their communitys success. Across every continent he has visited, Tafel has seen how even the most established democracies can benefit from mechanisms that empower voters more directly.

Avid readers of political thought who want to check out his work can find it displayed at an upcoming book festival at Printers Row in Chicago on September 6-7, 2025. It will be under the exhibit of ReadersMagnet, a book marketing and self-publishing service firm.

You Can Control Your Governments: How to restore real democracy to the citizen by Richard Tafel available on ReadersMagnet Bookstore, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

Author: Richard Tafel
Published date: May 8, 2025
Publisher: Readersmagnet LLC
Genre: Politics

Author Bio

Richard Tafel was an active lawyer in Ontario, Canada, for all of his professional life. While working in the myriad activities of an active daily practice, he also found time to become involved in political matters. He became president of three different political affiliations within his municipality. He attended many political conventions. He is acutely aware of the awesome power of government over our daily lives. He was an elected school trustee for 10 years. He has traveled in all of the continents. He realizes just how little influence any citizen has in what goes on within his countrys vaunted democracy.