Does Public Input Matter?
Guest post from Lenore Herskovitz
In the August 2022 edition of Looking @ Lakewood Mayor Adam Paul commented on public input stating:” We offer many opportunities for you to engage and make your voice heard. Your participation, feedback, and ideas are critical”. While the opportunities may exist for volunteering or submitting information either in person or through Lakewoodspeaks, etc. the results of these efforts are usually ignored.
In June 2017, as the citizens’ initiative regarding strategic growth was becoming a reality, our city manager began an all out campaign to try to prevent it from moving forward. Emails obtained through CORA indicate that she directed staff to craft talking points against the initiative. She also worked with the Mayor on adhering to scripted messaging. Keep in mind, this initiative began because the people were concerned about the direction the City was taking regarding growth. For two years, lawsuits prevented the issue from going to the ballot box. Over $300,000 was raised to fight the citizen’s initiative, but the voters spoke at the polls in July 2019 passing the SGI. Our city officials who proclaim they value public input, have spent the past few years doing everything in their power to circumvent that voter approved initiative.
If public participation is so highly valued, why disband effective interactive programs such as the development dialogues. These meetings successfully addressed and offered solutions to various problems including housing, parking, etc. They provided a setting that allowed community members to interact with city staff and councilors. Questions were raised and responded to in the moment. I suspect that most of the councilors who voted to end these productive meetings had never attended one. Now the Housing Policy Commission will take on these challenges. This group has spent the past few years working on a short-term rental policy with no definitive results to date.
Neither transparency nor public attendance was a priority when scheduling the Annual Planning Retreat last February. It was the only meeting since the beginning of the pandemic that was designated as an “in-person only” event. All other meetings both before and after this offered “virtual” or “hybrid” options. This very important meeting that set City Council priorities for the rest of the year didn’t even offer an “audio” recorded component. I was one of four members of the public who attended. When one observer went to get a cup of coffee from the refreshment table, the Deputy City Manager informed her she couldn’t have any because it was for participants only. Not exactly a welcoming message.
When our city officials encourage citizen input, it makes a lovely sound bite but nothing more. If you have ever addressed City Council either in person or by phone you recognize it as a frustrating experience. There is rarely any feedback for your efforts and you often wonder if anyone is paying attention. Prior to council meetings, all our representatives are supposed to read comments on Lakewoodspeaks but it is unusual for that to occur.
The council is supposed to be a non-partisan body, but too often that is not the reality. Those council members who are independent thinkers are encouraged to be “team players” and not make waves. The Mayor consistently speaks of “decorum” yet he often fails to follow these guidelines regarding his own behavior. Changes need to be made. For the people’s voices to be heard, we need to demand that our elected representatives be strong and stand up for their constituents’ priorities rather than allow the staff led by the city manager to direct policy. It can be done. Just this past week, the City Council voted unanimously to deny a “blight” designation defying the staff recommendation. This does provide a glimmer of hope moving forward.