I think that’s a bit of a leap from what I wrote. I never suggested foisting a new civics class on high schools. I too think it is incumbent on government to be more proactive and helpful to its citizens which is why what I’m working on is a program to help local mayors and city managers make municipal government more accessible and unde…
I think that’s a bit of a leap from what I wrote. I never suggested foisting a new civics class on high schools. I too think it is incumbent on government to be more proactive and helpful to its citizens which is why what I’m working on is a program to help local mayors and city managers make municipal government more accessible and understandable to its citizens. None of us knows what we don’t know and while what I seek is greater outreach by municipal government, the citizens and groups I am talking to as part of my research are also excited about acquiring a better understanding of how things work. I got involved in politics in my late 30s and was embarrassed by my lack of knowledge of who did what at any level of government. If asked, I would not have known who to call for help with an issue. I’m grateful for the people who answered every dumb question while never making me feel stupid.
So I think that when I see opponents of municipal governments go from “the mayor hasn’t gotten back to me with an answer about the new stop sign I want” TO “she’s a self-serving b*itch, doesn’t care about the citizens and is running the city like a dictator,” there is something I can do to at least explain that it's a hell of a lot faster to get things moving inside the city when you call the city manager directly, rather than writing the mayor and then waiting for the mayor to go talk to the city manager, get input from the city manager and then get back to you. You can still believe that the mayor is a self-serving b*tch, but you won’t be able to say so because you chose to take a circuitous route to make your request and are waiting for the process to play out.
No elected official should be giving any citizen the brush off. It’s unacceptable. On any issue big or small. And if they’ve been around a long time, shame on them. But there is also no school or class on how to be an elected official or staffer and how to run a riding office. You get elected for the first time and you learn on the job how to serve and respond to your constituents. That in itself is another problem for another day.
Sorry, wasn't trying to be dismissive. There are folks out there who pitch education as a kind of cure-all.
But we're speaking the same language about democratic representation. The constant trend towards defending elected officials' offices is worsening this trend. More capacity inside those offices means better training, more service, etc. Pushing out better, easy-to-understand, guides on how to navigate government — I.e. go to the city manager first — absolutely helps that along.
I think that’s a bit of a leap from what I wrote. I never suggested foisting a new civics class on high schools. I too think it is incumbent on government to be more proactive and helpful to its citizens which is why what I’m working on is a program to help local mayors and city managers make municipal government more accessible and understandable to its citizens. None of us knows what we don’t know and while what I seek is greater outreach by municipal government, the citizens and groups I am talking to as part of my research are also excited about acquiring a better understanding of how things work. I got involved in politics in my late 30s and was embarrassed by my lack of knowledge of who did what at any level of government. If asked, I would not have known who to call for help with an issue. I’m grateful for the people who answered every dumb question while never making me feel stupid.
So I think that when I see opponents of municipal governments go from “the mayor hasn’t gotten back to me with an answer about the new stop sign I want” TO “she’s a self-serving b*itch, doesn’t care about the citizens and is running the city like a dictator,” there is something I can do to at least explain that it's a hell of a lot faster to get things moving inside the city when you call the city manager directly, rather than writing the mayor and then waiting for the mayor to go talk to the city manager, get input from the city manager and then get back to you. You can still believe that the mayor is a self-serving b*tch, but you won’t be able to say so because you chose to take a circuitous route to make your request and are waiting for the process to play out.
No elected official should be giving any citizen the brush off. It’s unacceptable. On any issue big or small. And if they’ve been around a long time, shame on them. But there is also no school or class on how to be an elected official or staffer and how to run a riding office. You get elected for the first time and you learn on the job how to serve and respond to your constituents. That in itself is another problem for another day.
Sorry, wasn't trying to be dismissive. There are folks out there who pitch education as a kind of cure-all.
But we're speaking the same language about democratic representation. The constant trend towards defending elected officials' offices is worsening this trend. More capacity inside those offices means better training, more service, etc. Pushing out better, easy-to-understand, guides on how to navigate government — I.e. go to the city manager first — absolutely helps that along.