Give the power back to the people by
empowering the people.
With voter turn out for city elections
being around 7.4% it is disconcerting to say the least. But, why is
that? Why do people not care about what will eventually affect them?
What can city officials do to get people involved and do they really
want the masses to be involved? Are we down the road from a world
like “Idiocracy”?
City Council meetings are open to the
public. You can attend these meetings and get on stack to speak about
various topics on Thursdays, starting at 10am. But, how many people
know that and/or how many people would be willing to sit through a
meeting that can go on and on, filled with terminology that is
confusing to even the well educated among us?
Have the people who are supposed to
represent us become so inaccessible that it has made the average
citizen apathetic and willing to be lead blindly because they feel
they have no real choice, or for that matter a voice? I think so. If
you walk down the street and stop ten people here in Austin, I have
actually done this, and ask them who are the top three mayoral
candidates for the upcoming election, I bet the majority of them
would not even be able to tell you who the current mayor is. It is
Lee Leffingwell by the way. I would not even bother asking them if
they knew who sits on City Council. These people who hold these
positions are going to directly affect the lives of those living in
Austin. They make decisions like plastic bag use, where a Wal-mart
can be placed, noise ordinances, smoking ordinances, raising energy
cost, with all the hidden fees, all the 'little' things we love to
bitch about but have no idea who came up with it in the first place.
Is it our own fault? Whose fault is it?
I believe that people, if given the
chance and the education, would answer the call and become involved.
But how? It would be a monumental challenge and it would take some
people like the Mayor and those sitting on City Council to get off
their butts and actually start to engage the communities and hold
accessible city council meetings, and for lack of better terms, the
meetings will need to be jazzed up and dumbed down a little but still
cover the important facts. They will need to step out of City Hall
and into the communities not just during elections! They will need to
have teams to go door to door, inviting residents out of their homes
to engage in an open dialogue about things that will affect them. I
know this is pretty optimistic, but with even a small step in this
direction we might see an increase in voter turnout. It is all about
giving the power back to the people and waking them up and letting
them know that their voice does matter they just need to start
shouting louder and they need a place to do it.
Every time I go to City Hall I laugh a
little, mainly because the statue itself is a little odd looking but also I laugh because of what it is suppose to represent. I will post it below. It
is supposed to symbolize having a voice, but there are some out there
who do not know they have a voice and do not know there is a place
for them to share it.
I believe that if our elected officials start
to ACTUALLY engage their constituents and become part of the
community they represent, then and only then will people start to
care. I believe it is their duty to at least try and get people
involved. They have a duty to educate and represent even the most
under educated and poorest am
ong us. They need to take care of the weakest members and we will all become stronger. Lead people to education and give them the ability to make a change in their own community and we will grow and we might even become less distrustful of those who rule. Until people start to feel like they can actually make a difference we will continue to see low voter turn out. It is partly the individual's fault but it is also those who lead us.
ong us. They need to take care of the weakest members and we will all become stronger. Lead people to education and give them the ability to make a change in their own community and we will grow and we might even become less distrustful of those who rule. Until people start to feel like they can actually make a difference we will continue to see low voter turn out. It is partly the individual's fault but it is also those who lead us.
PS Just in case you want to get involved or write letters these are the people who sit on Austin City Council:
Mayor Lee Leffingwell
Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole
Chris Riley Place 1
Mike Martinez Place 2
Kathie Tovo Place 3
Laura Morrison Place 4
Bill Spelman Place 5
All of these people are up for re-election May 12! For once I will actually be voting. My faith in the system is still not there, but I might as well try.
Check out this guy who is running for Mayor! He looks a little young, but I think this is what we need! He is also going to propose holding city council meetings on the weekends and monthly meetings for citizens to voice their concerns!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C--dFtYFcU&feature=relmfu
Check out this guy who is running for Mayor! He looks a little young, but I think this is what we need! He is also going to propose holding city council meetings on the weekends and monthly meetings for citizens to voice their concerns!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C--dFtYFcU&feature=relmfu
In Melanie Warren’s blog titled “It is Time for Those Who Lead to Give a S***!” I totally agree that the local politicians are partly the blame when it comes to low voter turnout and for the politically uneducated masses. I also agree that the Mayor and City Council members should take a more active role with educating the public and getting more citizens involved by knocking on doors, making phone calls, and making City Council meetings more accessible and less complicated. However, there are many things that the rest of us can do to increase knowledge about state and local government. Blogs like this are a great example. If we have knowledge that we can share with our peers, we should do that more often. I am sure that most people would be more motivated by someone that they know as opposed to a “dirty” politician who usually has an ulterior motive.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, the school system can do a much better job with adding political education to its curriculum. I feel that Texas government courses should be required during elementary school and should continue each year or at least every other year until High School graduation. The courses should focus on more than just the Alamo. We need to start teaching children how to think critically during their formative years; they need to know about the history of the political process and how it works today. They also need to understand the roles of the Mayor, City Council and other locally elected officials. By doing so, our citizens would have a much strong foundation of knowledge in regards to the political process and hopefully, by the time they are of legal voting age, will be able to make well-informed decisions based on knowledge instead of how most people vote: superficial ideology or party affiliation.
I was lucky enough to grow up in a family that discussed political issues regularly and my mother always reminded me how important it was to vote. Even still, I am guilty of not keeping up with the city, state and county elections and other issues. If it weren’t for me taking this class right now, it would be very easy for me to disengage from local politics, especially with the national election coming up this year. Why is that? I don’t think it is the politicians’ fault that I am not keeping up with current news. I do believe that the media could play a much bigger role to help citizens become more aware of the issues at hand. The media, especially TV, plays a huge role when it comes to educating the public. The local news should take more time to profile candidates, talk about political issues and perhaps spend two minutes less on the weather (all I need to know if it I need a coat or umbrella) and use that time to educate the public about issues that affect voters and tax payers.
Like Melanie, I also believe “that people, if given the chance and the education, would answer the call and become involved.” But in my opinion, the “monumental challenge” starts with “us” not “them.” By sharing the responsibility with the politicians and taking and active role in the community, also by sharing information with our peers, adding more political curriculum in the schools and using media more effectively to educate the masses, along with Melanie’s suggestions...Texas' government could better reflect its citizens' views and ideals in just a few short years.
I read "It is Time for Those Who Lead to Give a S***" by Melanie Warren. I have to start by saying that I'm slightly confused after reading this piece. Ms. Warren starts into her second paragraph by informing her audience about City Council meetings; how they are open to and for the public and even what day and time they are held. Directly afterwards, Ms. Warren then begs the question, "Have the people who are supposed to represent us become so inaccessible that it has made the average citizen apathetic and willing to be lead blindly because they feel they have no real choice, or for that matter a voice?" But I thought the "people who are supposed to represent us" are completely accessible? As stated in the previous paragraph, they meet openly for the public "on Thursdays, starting at 10:00 a.m." Also, I'm not sure if I agree with the idea that citizens are becoming apathetic because they find their Mayor and City Council members "inaccessible;" our citizens may have a sense of apathy towards voting and our legal structure but I would probably attribute that more to the fact that many of the citizens that reside in Austin are busy with their own lives to really take time out of their day to go to a 10:00 a.m. meeting.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I do agree with Ms. Warren on is that our citizens should probably know who our current Mayor is; personally, I did know that Lee Leffingwell is our current mayor but I wouldn't get too wrapped up in the idea that other people don't know that. I believe that the people who will be voting in the election for our Mayor will be educated on all possible candidates and yes, more people should probably be involved in voting on something as important as deciding who our mayor will be but I am still struggling with the idea that I am qualified to say what other people should spend their time on.
As Ms. Warren starts to bring her writing to a close, she states that it is her belief that more people would become involved if our Mayor and City Council would "get off their butts" and engage the community. Ms. Warren also believes that our City Council meetings should be more accessible and entertaining and also that "teams" of people on behalf of our Mayor and City Council members to go out into our communities and engage them about topics of interest. Firstly, I remember from Ms. Warren's first statement about the accessibility of City Council meetings that they are easily accessible and open to the public; as far as them being more entertaining, I agree with Ms. Warren in that it is an optimistic thought...but I doubt it will happen. Secondly, I am wondering, who will make up these "teams" of people who will be going out to the communities and engaging? I assume volunteers would do this job because there is no way that the Mayor's office or City Council will be paying anyone to do this, but I also assume that there must be a lack of volunteers because if a group of people went up to the Mayor's office and stated that they would like to go out and engage communities about what is going on and what decisions he is making, he would welcome that with open arms....it's essentially free good PR.
All in all, I think that Ms. Warren made excellent arguments, even if I don't agree with them all. I very much enjoyed reading this post and look forward to more.