Tag Cloud
Friday, February 10, 2012
Introducing My New Web "Town Hall"
by Kevin Johnson, published on May 5, 2009 at 1:54 PM
Storyline: City Government
Today I launched a new way for Sacramento citizens to weigh in on issues facing our city, and you don't even have to leave your keyboard to do it .
Sacramento will be one of the first cities in the nation to use "Open Town Hall," an online public comment process that enables residents to voice opinions on matters before the City Council. It is operated by Peak Democracy, a non-partisan company whose mission is to broaden participation in democracy, and to build public trust in government.
Technology is changing the way that citizens participate in democracy. I'm pioneering this new tool to put Sacramento on the cutting edge of citizen involvement and transparency in government. For the first time, citizens can provide public input on policy decisions facing our community via the web.
I will incorporate input from Open Town Hall along with all other channels for participation into his decisions. Participants can also receive email updates to learn what I've decided, and why I decided it.
There is no need to trudge down to City Council meetings. Now you can read what others are saying, and help shape public policy all from the convenience of your own computer on your own schedule. It's never been easier.
Here's what our partners at Peak Democracy had to say about it.
"City Council meetings can be boring, contentious or both" according to Peak Democracy CEO and co-founder Robert Vogel, "and those late night meetings tend to be dominated by folks with extreme views. We wanted to give the moderate majority a safer, more convenient way to participate."
Started 18 months ago, Peak Democracy now runs civil on-line forums for elected officials and local governments in Palo Alto, Berkeley and Eureka, as well as cities in four other states.
I believe this is a win-win for citizens and local government. This new model for civic engagement gives our community responsible citizen involvement in government, and it gives you a new way to participate.
My first question asks citizens their view on the city budget. To share your view, go to www.peakdemocracy.com/311.
Conversation Express your views,
debate, and be heard with those in your area closest
to the issue.
Leave a Comment
You have surrounded yourself with a bunch of yes-men...they have steered you in the wrong direction, yet you stay on the path they laid our for you...
Our City needs strong leadership and a Mayor who is willing to stand up to special interest groups...So far you have been trampled by the other council members and those that put them into office.
I hope you can evolve into the person you portrayed yourself as during your campaign. Many of us bought into your campaign promises and voted you into office...It's now time to follow through with those promises.
Stop trying to go-along-get-along with the other council members...be the bold leader you sold yourself as.
How do we know this is even Kevin Johnson's post? I will bet Kevin lunch it's a staffer or volunteer.
Oh...and audit the Redevelopment Agency.
http://www.peakdemocracy.com/m/pricing/ur_front
Open City Hall Pricing
Open City Hall pricing is based on the jurisdiction population
Population One-time setup fee Monthly Subscription
Less than 100,000 $5,000 $200
100,000 - 999,999 $10,000 $500
1,000,000 or more $20,000 $1,000
I'll tell you what :I'll set up a web forum using http://www.phpbb.com/ for free, and then will use a few hundred bucks for bandwidth, hosting etc. so out of $20,000 - you'll have like - $19,000 left over.
What do you say?
This is Steve. That's the Mayor.
Please list the other great accomplishments the council has done in your opinion.
There is now way in hell KJ reads, listens, or responds to public input outside of carefully controlled circumstances. I know, I have attended several of his town halls. He talks for most of the time, usually about 30-40 minutes, telling people how great a job he has been doing or relates stories of going to the White House or being on Larry King, but when it comes to public comment time, the entire PURPOSE of a town hall event, he goes through the motions for about 20-30 minutes, talks to maybe 6-8 people out of the hundred or two who came, and then promptly ends the meeting. The entire "town hall" last precisely one hour.
This City only listens to those who donate to their campaigns.
Our Mayor Johnson, has reduced the public speaking times at council meetings to two minutes per person, (while lobbyists, developers and staff proponants get UNLIMITED time to speak) and if there are many that want to speak..he does a quick poll and asks the citizens who took time out to come and voice their opinion, to raise their hands to show which side of the issue they are on, he then cuts off public comment, without letting them speak. This can all be verified by watching the council meeting videos. Does this sound like a guy who is interested in what you have to say?
The Mayor has, or is in the process of, merging the afternoon council session with the evening session and starting it at 5PM. This gives less time to ram twice as much spending down our throats while giving LESS time for the public to respond...Is this the open and accountable government he was speaking of during his campaign?
You have to realize that our elected officials truly believe that they know whats in our best interest. They are the ruling elite. They look upon the masses as a necessary burden to deal with to achieve their political and personal success; but don't ever fool yourself into believing they ever listen to the average citizen.
Please focus your comments on the new Web Town Hall.
Will it be inundated with less useful information than if people came and represented their opinions passionately and directly to their city council?
Will there be efforts to still make city council meetings accessible to those who want to represent their views in person?