| Kern County, CA | November 6, 2012 Election |
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Encourage Citizen Participation in City GovernmentBy Thomas R. WiknichCandidate for Council Member; City of Ridgecrest |
This information is provided by the candidate | |
I believe that the people deserve to be involved in decisions the council makes. And that the council has a duty to make it as easy as possible for people to participate.I believe that the people deserve to be involved in decisions the council makes. And that the council has a duty to make it as easy as possible for people to participate. The last time I served on the council, I initiated MONTHLY Town hall meetings. The current council stopped these as soon as I left office. This was informal. Anyone could come in and discuss any issue they wanted to provide comments on. The way council meetings are run, needs to be changed. Currently now, during council meetings, the Mayor calls an agenda item for consideration. Then a staff report is provided. Then the council and mayor make some comments. Then it is opened up for PUBLIC input and comments. During public comment, there is rarely a back and forth dialog with the people. The council just sits and listens. Then the mayor close public comment. It comes back to the council for final comment and votes. Many times council members will even make rebuttal comments to what the public says. But the public then is NOT allowed to provide any additional comment to clarify their comments or even have a open discussion on the topic. As a matter of fact, I have even seen people rise up to be heard, to only be told to sit down, as public comment is over. |
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ca/kr Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 12, 2012 15:05
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