Local government can be fascinatingly intriguing, significant, and captivating. This book grew out of years of determination while I was a Mayor, Councilmember, and Planning Commissioner to make local government and public meetings approachable, friendly, customer-oriented, accessible, accountable, and understood. It is a process that needs work on all sides of the dais – by the public, by staff, and by elected representatives.
As the first directly elected female Mayor of my town, I achieved all of the goals I set for my two years in office except one: I wanted to set up a course for new Councilmembers to teach them their roles and responsibilities as directors on the many Boards on which they sit. This book is my fulfillment of that goal. Boardsmanship is an art, a science, and a learned skill that isn’t taught, but which would enhance the service we provide to those who elect us if we understood how to do it well.
The problem is that there is no playbook, no job description, no education for newly elected representatives or for the public that explains what is expected of us and what our jobs are. It’s all happenstance. The electeds get thrown in at the deep end, and their constituents often don’t even get to the pool, or they check in with their representatives in a haphazard way.
I became familiar with local government practice and process by osmosis over the course of thirteen years. You can do that too, but you will be much more effective and waste much less time if you learn how it works before you take up your role. City Council 101 will shorten your learning curve so you can hit the ground running.
I share, as an insider, a former Mayor and good government advocate, what nobody tells us going in – your roles and responsibilities. Both are critical if we are serious about governing well.
The relationship between the govern-ers and the governed is often perceived as adversarial or actually is adversarial. Neither the public nor their representatives understand how City Hall works. As a result, mistrust develops at best, and apathy at worst. Government staff and electeds may not think in terms of how to engage the public, or they may want to avoid embarrassment and get on with their work, viewing the public as a nuisance, and finding ways to do things without involving the public.
But it didn’t start out this way, and it isn’t intended in our National or State Constitutions to be this way. We The People created our form of government to serve us. The very first amendment in our federal and in most State Constitutions, is FREEDOM OF SPEECH. The governed are to speak their truth. We are to be a government by committee. The institutions of our government belong to those who are governed. They are in charge. Your job is to serve them.
I will suggest exercises that will enhance your knowledge: something interesting or entertaining to think about, google, complete, or watch.
I will provide you with -
- How to's
- Practical actions that get results
- Helpful exercises
- Real life examples
- Occasional comic relief
- Worksheets - Food for thought
- A template for public records requests
