I have said it once and I will say it a thousand times more before my time on Earth is complete — your voice matters and one of the most important places for your voice is in local government. Local government is where potholes get filled, zoning laws get passed, and decisions that shape our daily lives are made. And when our elected and/or appointed officials are not communicative, transparent, and civil, our towns become chaos. It is disheartening to know that the most common reason a citizen listens, watches, or goes to a local government meeting is to be entertained rather than informed.
When a local meeting turns into political theater, complete with overly dramatic shouting, head games, throwing tantrums, and outright dysfunction it is time for a change. In these times, citizens can feel powerless watching people act in an unbecoming manner of an elected official — mayors who ignore standard decorum, council members who bicker with no solutions, and public servants who make deals behind closed doors.
This is when citizens need to stop spectating and start taking action because citizens are not powerless — in fact, when the system is used properly they can be the most powerful force in the room. A citizen’s role in government does not begin and end on Election Day, we can do so much more; we can hold who we elect accountable for their actions.
Elected officials should be held to a higher standard of respectability on every level and we the people have the ability to do that. Holding local officials accountable doesn’t require a law degree or even a megaphone, it just needs us to pay attention and speak up.
The first step was voting but throughout an official’s time in office, we can be the watchdogs and that starts with watching. Attend the city council or board meetings if you can and keep track of meeting minutes if you can’t. Some of our coverage area towns video record their meetings and put them online — sometimes a month late but it’s better late than never. Watching these meetings is one of the fastest ways to understand who is doing what you voted for. The difference in a thoughtful question from an engaged representative and one who is simply there to cause a fuss is pretty obvious — as Barry Neil Kaufman once said, “A loud voice cannot compete with a clear voice”.
Public comment is available for a reason — every meeting should have one — use it. This is a moment when citizens can give their opinions and concerns on the record. Some areas limit public comment to matters that are on the agenda for that meeting so keep that in mind but otherwise just be clear, respectful, and specific with what you want to be heard (see Kaufman quote above). In most cases, officials will not respond directly to public comments and they may even try to brush off a complaint or two but when that concern is reiterated ten, or 20, or 50 times, it becomes much harder to ignore.
Most public officials have an official email that can be used for communication with constituents. When that email becomes overrun with one subject line from multiple different sources someone is bound to pay attention and if they don’t, at least there’s proof you tried before you start the next step — organizing.
After a seeing a pattern of bad behavior and poor decision making that has yielded no consequences, then it is time to become well-acquainted with your neighbors. Form a group, start a petition — if you’ve noticed something wrong, there’s a good chance several others have too. The more coordinated your efforts, the louder your voice becomes.
Referencing once again Kaufman’s aforementioned quote, don’t just yell about what you want changed; know the rules and take the steps to make the change a reality. Every city and town has a version of what can and can’t be done — a charter, codes, or ordinances. Learn what those are and if an official is seemingly in violation of those, file a formal complaint through the city clerk and if that’s not enough, file another with a state oversight board.
Finally, when you manage to see all that hard work result in an open position, get out and vote. Pay attention to who’s running and remember how they behaved when they thought no one was watching. Local government isn’t a spectator sport. If you want better behavior, better leadership, and better results, you have to demand it. Remembering that your role doesn’t stop when the polls close is a big step in making sure that happens. Change starts when citizens decide they’re no longer content to be bystanders in their own communities.