The Mayor, The Council an The Observer

[Bill Call]

During the last year several posts have posed the question of why the Mayor and council do not take the opportunity to take part in these discussions.

My theory is this:

Think of the Mayor and the council as the politburo. They are jealous of their power and secretive by nature. If they take part in this open forum they lose control over information and open themselves up to questions they would rather not answer.

They are supported in this little conspiracy of silence by the local media outlets. Think of the PD, The Sun Post and various TV stations as Pravda. They can be counted on to support the party line.

And then there is the upstart Observer. The local politicians are a little frightened by it. They don't control it and they are not sure if they can count on it to support the party line. Think of the Observer as a pirate radio station broadcasting from a secret location.

For now, the pirate station is content to broadcast reruns of Amos and Andy and Burns and Allen with an occasional Three Stooge act just for fun.

The fear of the local politicians is that the Observer may wake up to its true potential. If they treat it as a serious forum they may lose control of the information they guard so closely, and information is power. And it is always about the power.

[Kenneth Warren]

Bill:

Good post.

I share your disappointment at the lack of civic and political determination to realize the city’s potential through the Lakewood Observer’s call for transparency in framing issues, problem solving and deliberation.

The Lakewood Observer is an innovation that proposes to disrupt the same old same at a critical moment in the city’s history and at a critical moment in the evolution of technology. That Lakewood doesn’t get it, doesn’t realize how to position the city through innovation, is discouraging to observe.

I thought there was a greater capacity for civic intelligence and engagement here. The lack of will to innovate on the LO platform might well be part of what Ed Morrison might ascribe to the “command/controlâ€Â￾ legacy of the blue collar industrial age.

However, it’s not simply the elected officials, responsible for the weather.

The Three Stooges can inspire fear, and they are sometimes smarter than they first appear.

Not everybody wants to risk getting clunked on the head, or having their nose bent out of shape, when what might seem a great idea collapses under the burden of critical pressures.

People are fearful of the gold standard of real name, put it on the line and mix it up with Moe, Larry, worrying whether Shemp or Curly will ambush them in the next post.

It is difficult to trust a process that is innovative and transparent, one that promises to deal more wild cards at the speed of thought than the average political bear can compute.

For most politicians the risks outweigh the rewards. It is unlikely that any handlers have experience in running a campaign and much less a career down such a track.

The opening, of course, is for the gambler, the risk taker, to realize the opening here, the shift in power play to transparency and to commandeer new levels of trust and leadership in the city.

Unfortunately lack of participation by institutional leadership creates more adversarial, dispirited, and marginalized Moes, looking for bigger hammers, and increasing the burn rates for the third Stooge.


Kenneth Warren

[Jim O'Bryan]

The fear of the local politicians is that the Observer may wake up to its true potential. If they treat it as a serious forum they may lose control of the information they guard so closely, and information is power. And it is always about the power.

Bill

Maybe Ken will jump in as they seem to understand it better than many.

He has understood the potential from day one. He is a public official, possibly the most successful, and he has mentioned this in the past.

I would like to say, it does not end with politicians, we could through in many public officials, the school board, and administration and others.

Let me assure you, The Advisory Board knows our full potential. we know what we have in the pipeline and know what can be done, and to be honest it is staggering.

As I have said, this project could propel this city into the limelight nationally. But for some reason, we cannot get them to help us get this Ferrari, 100% Lakewood made, out of first gear. When we do...!

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[Jim O'Bryan]

Bill:

Not everybody wants to risk getting clunked on the head, or having their nose bent out of shape, when what might seem a great idea collapses under the burden of critical pressures...

Kenneth Warren

Ken

I would like to point out that every public official that has ever wondered through the Lakewood Observer portal has received nothing but praise and thanks for talking to us, their serfs, er constituents.

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[Stan Austin]

Bill--- Your contention that Lakewood officials, both from the school and city, don't participate as much as would be beneficial for public discourse has some merit. However, you place the blame totally on them for a reduced level of participation from what might be desired.
Have you ever, once as you yourself post on an issue, tried to predict what the response would be to allegations, questionable assertions, and deliberately provocative language that you use would be?
In a post you made on the Firefighter bargaining agreement thread earlier this morning you stated that the agreement would have "devastating consequences on the city budget."
What utter nonsense.
Is it any wonder that you receive no official response when the language you use and the mind set it comes from is not meant to be discursive but merely confrontation for the sake of confrontation, not civic discourse.
Let me suggest that while some vigor and color in posts lends to their readability and can help spur debate, there is in fact,a line past which embellishment simply shuts down discourse.
Before we post, let's reread our post and ask ourselves "is this a smash face slam dunk that will kill the other guy or is this a play that will allow the game to continue according to the rules of common courtesy.
As always--- your friend
Stan Austin

[Jim O'Bryan]

Stan

As you are a member of this project from day one, and our city council reporter we have spoken of this many, many times.

Of course we do not expect anyone to head into a crossfire or ambush.

That is why we put up the government section where ANY elected official could post and no direct reply could be made to that post.

At the same time, EVERY elected official said the one thing they would do is participate if we kept our promise of REAL NAMES only. We have but...

Finally, I would hate to see the participation in this forum, cost anyone an election because "they spent too much time here." But the time here is talking with real people, with real concerns.

But you point is well taken.

I do have to mention that the Mayor has gone out of his way to instruct his staff to answer our calls, his door is always open, and Melissa Garrett treats this project as a partner.


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[Shawn Juris]

So what is the LO Deck? Is a respected place to hash out reasonable and verifiable positions or a place for conspiracy theories and unsupportable positions? Is it supposed to be a modern day forum with the likes of Socrates or Benjamin Franklin, or is it a peanut gallery with the stooge like behavior that Ken referred to. I can respect both types for what they're worth but it would certainly be a factor in who joins in and how they participate.
I'm nothing more than a resident who has played involved citizen from time to time and I have a hard time here. I can only imagine the difficulty that those who's careers are up for grabs face in posting a honest response.

[Jeff Endress]

It is interesting to note that despite the potential of the LO project, nobody has quite figured out how to harness this horse. But, I am inclined to believe that the person who is first able to do so will energize a grass roots movement that has the capacity to foster significant positive change.

The speed and dispersal of information through web based media has rendered traditional media as relevant as mule drawn buckboards.....witness the impact of an off-the-cuff comment caught on a video phone and posted to myspace.....a candidacy derailed over a "made up" nick name.....or the need to apologize for a poorly framed joke about education and service in Iraq.....stories that hit the web and generated responses before the traditional media even had time to slot them for the evening news.

But, the promise is also the curse. One misstep and the error is floating in cyberspace for eternity, ready to be trotted out (again and again and again) whereas the positive statements seem to be soon forgotten. Perhaps it's easier to rely on the standard question and answer candidate forums, where there is no ongoing record, and only a remote memory of the statements and positions taken. It certainly is safer.

Jeff

[Jim O'Bryan]

Shawn

Let's remember that the Observation Deck is but one small piece of the entire LO Project.

That said, the Observation Deck is the large table where everyone that cares to has a seat, one voice, and should be free to express their ideas. With that comes the understanding that anyone can also express their views and their views on your views. A civilized mosh pit. This comes directly from a conversation with the Mayor and other officials, that commented that their biggest fear was getting into it with people that had nothing to loose by stirring the pot. That if we asked members to take ownership of their comments that things would be much more real.

What many do not see, is there are also groups, coming and going where they have meetings and discussions outside the view of all. It is a service we offer at no charge. An example is the Jaycees could be given a VMR(Virtual Meeting Room) where you could meet and only Jaycee members could take part. The moderator let's say you, could talk about your upcoming golf outing, discuss who does what, and when the time is right move it into open discussion.

Again one small aspect of the Deck which is just one small part of the project.

We are opening areas for ALL churches to reach out with information, news, printed version of sermons etc.

This is one of the interesting things of how this whole project was designed. What it might be for me, might be totally different than what it is for you, or the Historical Society, or Trinity Church. It is a device that almost anything can be hung from or added to.

Let's look at another way the Jaycees could use this. Every day it gets tougher and tougher to get people to a meeting. So a VMR allows groups to have meetings 24/7/365 allowing more to join and take part. So you could has out all the little things, get together for face time and socially, then publish the stuff on the board.

The LO advisory board is run this way as is the paper. Many writers and editors we have never even had the pleasure of meeting. It is this respect for a person's time bank that allows so many to take part.

This is why Ken wondered why the city does not take part. We could hold community meetings, even develop the white paper saving the city thousands, and getting more involved.

Like I have said, it is a Ferrari that has not even seen 2nd gear yet. But this year it will, and soon. By summer we will have it in third gear and by 2008 6th gear.

As DL has said, the love train is leaving the station.


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[Shawn Juris]

Jim,
It's fascinating to me how the solution that I pitched to a few of our members and had them search out vendors has been right here all along. I am 100% in favor of the VMR and think that the value it could bring will be amazing once it becomes part of the way of doing business. While there were some who put up obstacles about how they couldn't read emails at work or didn't get it, it seemed strange that it would be that hard to password protect an online discussion.

For the Deck itself, I think it's admirable to have an open discussion and the real names requirement was as important as it was simple to curb some of the improper behavior. Since the question at hand is why don't local politicians engage in these discussions, maybe a moderator of sorts is appropriate. Not to delete responses but someone that could maintain some validity to the discussion. Someone impartial and willing to research to offer perspective if a statement is factual or an opinion. In election debates, it's the following morning's article that lists which statements were accurate and which ones were not that I find more interesting. Impossible? Maybe but then again I heard that as well when I recommended VMRs as opposed to traditional meetings 2 years ago.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Shawn

No to beat it to death, and I know we have been missing each other for lunch or whatever. You have no idea the depth of this project.

This is one reason why I was more than a little upset over the rental site the city paid for. We could have added it in minutes.

The simple idea is the more residents we can get to one focal point, run without prejudice, the more we can accomplish as a city for the good of all.

This is always why I always say, My voice is not more important than yours, or Ken's or Ivor's etc. One voice, one opinion. To prove how it works: Our users have posted a total of 18168 articles NO EDITS OR CENSORS.

I am very proud of everyone that has taken part and is helping with the project. Like I said many said it could never happen, many more are proven it can.

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[Ryan Patrick Demro]

Observers,

I can only speak for myself on this, but I think there are very few individuals on the Observer who understand the role and burdens of a member of City Council.

I often feel frustrated that some think that "we" don't spend enough time in these forums. I post comments when I feel it is necessary to enter the debate and I also post public meetings when I feel the information is of public value or is an issue I care about.

I spent three and a half hours this week in meetings on behalf of the public. Some weeks we might spend up to 9-12 hours in meetings and sometimes 24 hours in a month during budget time. This is in addition to our full-time jobs and family commitments. I calculated time spent for our salary during my first year on council, it was a whopping six cents per hour. My point is not to complain about the job or the salary, but to give Observers the proper perspective of our role on City Council.

State law demands public meetings; therefore, we have certain constraints within which we must operate. No decisions will ever be made on this forum. They will always be voted on at City Hall. At the end of the day, it is all about time. How much time does one have to read and post in these forums? With DARE graduations, block watch meetings, committee meetings, organizational anniversaries and celebrations, ribbon cuttings, planning meetings, open houses, etc., I find myself here maybe twice a week. Usually I spend about an hour or so just reading posts to see what happenings people find of interest and any commentary on actions by the City. When I find it relevant, I post. Otherwise I, like a majority of residents, stay out of the fray.

I think the previous post that was most on target was that of Jeff Endress. We unfortunately live in an age of poisoned politics. I am not going to spend all kinds of time drafting and revising posts in an effort to avoid criticism in an election. Posts can easily be taken out of context or used against you in an election. I, and others, are not going to play that game. We just don't need it.

So I would just ask Observers to think a little more deeply about what those of us on Council deal with on a daily basis. Remember, there is still a large part of the population that likes to call us on a daily basis with complaints. When do you think we return those calls? When do you think we find the time to address those concerns. Ask Mary Louise and myself how our lunch hours have changed over the last four years.

I love this job and intend to be involved in politics over the next four years. Can we just lay off the Monday morning quarterbacking a little bit?

PS- Bill, there is no conspiracy. We don't have time for that either.

[Charyn Compeau]

PS- Bill, there is no conspiracy. We don't have time for that either.

I will shamelessly and with no remorse steal Kate's line:

"Quoted for truth"


Always,
Charyn

[Jim O'Bryan]

Observers,

I can only speak for myself on this, but I think there are very few individuals on the Observer who understand the role and burdens of a member of City Council. ...

Ryan Wins, who ever had Ryan as the first to log in wins.

Mr. Demro

Thanks for weighing in.

Of course it is easy to be Monday morning quarterback. It is so much easier from where we sit. No burden for our comments or positions. We can say and do what we want, as in the end, we never have to be re-elected.

Council Person is a part time job, that I feel does not pay enough.

One reason we must Monday morning quarterback is we do not know what is going on. While some feel it is great to turn to county wide media sources for their time, and others pledge time to semi regional papers.

Some of us, not all wonder if 2% of Lakewood, and a pretty impressive list of members, might beg some time and involvement. We cannot offer much, as we are nearly broke paying our taxes. But we have decided to get involved and help work on any Lakewood problem we could be trusted with. Alas as I said we are poor, all we can offer is as many column inches in the city's largest paper by 400%, and all the electrons you could ever dream of, to get out your plan, ideas, stories, requests, questions and dreams. That and our names, our real names in respect.

In the end, each person should decide, is it worth stopping in once in while to test an idea or build consensus.

Ryan, I kid, maybe. Mayor Tom George and you are masters of electronic use and abuse. Think of the hours you and I wasted talking of, you know. The Honorable Mayor George, plays it like a fine instrument.

This will be an interesting summer to see what emerges as issue. I know one that will be forefront in our eyes. How do politicians, and public officials get information out to ALL residents. If the city buys into Lightspeed, we want to see it used by the friends that brought it to us.

Ryan, thanks for the time. You have been one of the more active politicans here. You were one of LO's first supporters, and you have given the Observer complete access. In fact as you proved here tonight, you are an Observer, you are family, don't stay away from home so much.

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[dl meckes]

The Lakewood Observer gets over a million hits a month. It's been closer to two million hits. We put out 15,000 papers every two weeks (but for the winter holidays). You can't fill the auditorium at city hall with that number. You can get your message out any way you like.

"Let the sunshine, let the sun shine in, the sun shine in."