Our city is governed in empty rooms

Our social concerns are addressed while most of us are at work. We are convinced that our representatives “work for us,” but we are never part of a conversation which would hold them accountable for any identified failures to protect and serve the common welfare. There is no active channel for new information to make it into the process which means most legislation is crafted with often incomplete data and according to the individual biases on each committee. Today, the individual citizen is a fundamentally different political creature dealing with issues we’ve never seen before - yet our local policy making process is structured so that we are kept out of it.

there is no common sense in legislation

Without constant input from the community, we cannot find what works for us. The teachers know what’s wrong with education and the nurses know the concerns of the medical field. Parents all agree that childcare is too expensive. Most people would prefer to own their own home. Everyone wants to eat clean food and drink clean water. Without an active feedback loop which measures the efficiency of legislation, we are holding back our ability to create policy that works for us. There is no common sense in local legislation because there is no common voice. There is no common voice before there is no common mike.

  • While most council and committee meetings have an opportunity for public comment, all comment is limited to 2 minutes and our representatives are not required to respond to any comment or to answer any questions asked

    • there is no public dialogue between our representatives and their constituents

    • there is no way to “fact check” any argument made in real time against evidence

  • Every agenda is preset by the representatives

    • if a speaker does not “speak to the agenda,” they are escorted out of the room which means if you want to address an issue not on the agenda - you can’t.

    • if someone has pertinent information and/or experience to any policy and/or proposal on the agenda - they are not included in the conversation unless they are personally invited by an official position

  • Meetings held in private offices concerning social welfare are not recorded for public viewing

    • The community has no way of knowing who else in their city has the same concern or is working on the same project