Failure to Communicate

When speaking with people about my intention to run, I hear many of the same concerns cropping up. One of the most common is that many people feel council operates behind closed doors. Though the meetings are generally open to the public, there are practical barriers that prevent many citizens from attending. As such, many people only hear of council decisions when it is too late to have any input.

I would work on creating a city council which is resposible for communicating its activities to the public - one engaged with the community, and actively maintaining open channels of communication. To this end, I will support the development of a position of a 'Staff Blogger'. This position would be held by someone with a journalism background, who is responsible for keeping a current record of what council is doing, and making it available to the public online and to the media.

City residents should never feel surprised by major projects, and they should never feel excluded from the decision-making process. It is the job of the councilors to make these decisions, but I believe it to be their responsibility to do so in a manner which is consistent with the will of their constituents. This means people must have the opportunity to remain informed, and contribute their input to the decisions that will affect them.