Encourage More Blogging By City Officials

Posted by Chris Berry on October 6, 2008 in Local Politics, Roanoke Valley

Other than election day, ordinary citizens don’t have very many opportunities to make their thoughts known to their elected representatives. Even though the City of Roanoke provides numerous opportunities for members of the public to speak at council meetings and other forums, these gatherings do not attract a true cross section of the voting public. In spite of their good faith efforts to seek input, it is not possible for city officials to properly gauge public sentiment based on these gatherings.

When the city council discusses issues relating to Countryside, you can count on Countryside residents to turn out in force. At a recent public input session intended to gather ideas on the future of the Market Building, the audience was dominated by food court vendors. When voters are required to attend lengthy meetings to express their views, only those with a vested interest in the outcome are likely to attend.

The city has recently announced plans to conduct a survey of visitors to the Market Building. This is a step in the right direction, but once again it not going to capture a representative cross section since all of the participants will be current food court customers. Those residents who do not patronize the building in its present configuration will not be heard.

We clearly need a better method of communicating with our city officials. Councilmen Trinkle and Rosen have both recently started blogs that allow them to communicate directly with their constituents. This is a step in the right direction and I applaud them for their efforts, but I would like to see one site with every member of council participating, along with the City Manager and other administration officials.

Imagine a blog site where every member of the city council can explain their views and positions on a variety of important topics, and readers can provide their own input in the form of comments. Instead of relying on public input sessions, the site could include surveys to allow a broader cross section of residents to express their views on topics like the Market Building, amphitheater locations, Countryside, Forest Park, etc. One thing that the public made abundantly clear during the last election was that they are tired of factionalism and backroom deals. Allowing the public to participate more directly in the debate would go a long way toward improving public confidence in the council and their decisions.

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7 Comments on Encourage More Blogging By City Officials

By Matt on October 6, 2008 at 7:03 pm

A city government blog (or forum, which would probably be a more efficient medium) would still only be as useful as the individuals taking part in it. In all respects, the user community would consist of a majority of the ‘vested interest’ parties and a small modicum of random site traffic. It wouldn’t provide the full cross section we’d all like to see.

Another difficulty arising from an online blog/forum is the lack of a representation for the lower income, elderly and technophobe citizens who do not have a computer or internet access (a similar issue you previously noted in the comment section of your election post). I’m not certain what percentage of the Roanoke population this would cover, but you’d still be missing an accurate depiction of citizen desires and opinions.

To get a somewhat decent picture of public opinion, you’d have to think more ‘low tech’… something along the lines of mailed surveys with postage paid return envelopes. Given all of the circulars I receive from the city, I can’t imagine it would be difficult for them to fund a few mailings throughout the year.

It still wouldn’t be perfect, but it would still be a step in the right direction for a more publically proactive city government and a greater use of public opinion polls.

By Chris Berry on October 6, 2008 at 7:53 pm

Matt,
I agree that a forum would be an essential element of the site, but the blog would allow members of council to share detailed information on their ideas and positions. In reality there is no perfect communication medium that has the potential to reach every voter, but the internet has the advantage of being very inexpensive. Printing and mailing are very costly alternatives.

By Matt on October 6, 2008 at 8:12 pm

Chris,

I agree the internet is, by far, the least expensive route to go and would be able to provide a greater array of information from the individual council members. However, without some sort of advertising to publicize it, the forum/blog site would be nothing more than another venue for the ‘vested interest’ crowd.

That would be my only concern… a moderate amount of effort spent on a webpage that would not produce enough real interest to make it a viable project. Otherwise, I would whole-heartedly support the idea of such a site.

On a sidenote, after having just read the agenda notes from today’s council meeting, should I offer my congratulations on your no longer being unemployed or is the final decision still up in the air? Or, am I completely wrong and there is another Chris Berry being considered for the Economic Development position?

Either way, congrats or good luck, whichever is applicable.

By Chris Berry on October 6, 2008 at 8:24 pm

Matt,
It was me on the council agenda, but since it is a volunteer position I’m still unemployed.

By Matt on October 6, 2008 at 8:42 pm

Ech. To use a common colloquialism, “My bad.”

At the least, it’s a step in the right direction to pick up some networking contacts. So, I suppose “congratulations” and “good luck” would both be applicable.

By The Waltz of the Nice Guys, Dodging Bullets and the Blog Politic : Star City Harbinger on October 7, 2008 at 6:16 am

[...] an email to the members of Council claiming that Berry had criticized Council on his blog, Chris Berry on the Net. Lea’s email complained that it was inappropriate for a member of a council-appointed body [...]

By RoanokeRnR on October 7, 2008 at 6:30 am

Congrats on your appointment. Seems you already don’t have fans on City Council, but at least now we know that they do know how to use the internet.

Please feel free to share your thoughts. Without your comments, I'm just some guy talking to myself. Let me know if I'm right, wrong, or completely full of sh*t.