Lakewoodspeaks: Solution or Problem? Part 2
Guest post by Lenore Herskovitz
This is a continuation of the story entitled “Lakewoodspeaks: Solution or Problem?”
The software provider for the site Lakewoodspeaks is a company called Peoplespeak. When you search their website you will find a photo of Lakewood’s Planning Department Director Travis Parker featured as “Public-Private Innovations Advisor” next to pictures of the company’s executive team.
As a result of this discovery, I emailed Mr. Parker inquiring about his relationship with Peoplespeak.
He sent me information about the origin story of the company and clarified that he had “…never been an employee of People Speak”.
The following download is his complete response:
Once my article was printed in LakewoodInformer, I sent it to Mr. Parker for comments or questions. I am including highlights from these emails (full documentation of email exchanges available beginning March 3, 2023 available through download below).
Q: Mr. Parker asks why I sought out controversy regarding the Lakewoodspeaks site? He is also concerned that I didn’t look into metrics which show that the site is “actually succeeding” at improving “access to decision-making”.
A: “I welcome any metrics you want to provide to support your position.” None were provided. Additionally the implication that I sought out controversy is absolutely false.
“One [controversy] arose on Feb. 13, 2023 when an inappropriate posting appeared in the General Comment section of Lakewoodspeaks. This comment violated the platform’s moderation policy because the commenter used a false identity and the submission contained personal attacks.” The City decided to change their moderation policy rather than following established protocol of removing the offensive posting.
Q: Why didn’t I look into the cost of the city’s more expensive software programs if cost was my main concern?
A: Cost was not a main focus of the original article. It was one aspect of the complete story. It is interesting that Mr. Parker never references any monetary compensation the City pays to Peoplespeak, although he does mention “free upgrades”.
CONCERN: Mr. Parker points out errors/ inconsistencies regarding statements concerning Captcha technology and the moderation policy. The inaccuracies were acknowledged, explained and corrected with an apology.
Q: Mr. Parker asks: What is the goal of my article? He objects to my position that Golden has a more effective policy He asks are my goals lower costs, easier participation and more transparency?
A: Yes! Yes! and Yes!
The following are my set of questions sent to Mr. Parker on March 10, 2023 and his complete response dated March 22, 2023.
The following are questions I have for you:
1. Regarding the timeline you provided, you said Lakewood became Peoplespeak’s first customer in 2017. Since the company wasn’t established until 2018, how did you locate these individuals? Did you have a previous relationship of any kind with any of the co-founders?
2. The Peoplespeak site claims an 800% increase in public participation. What time period does this cover? Can you provide specific numbers of people for a before and after comparison (before software introduced and after it had been operating)? There are claims that data from 2018 and 2019 showed significant numbers of people watching videos on the site and leaving public comments. How many? What figures are available between 2020 and the present? I would expect numbers to grow during the pandemic, did they? To what extent did participation change? What is the present numbers for Lakewood for in person participation vs. online when important issues such as STRs or Save Bear Creek are on the agenda? Presently, there is greater participation on Lakewoodspeaks because Nextdoor , councilors and word of mouth are directing people to go to that site to post comments about STRs. If Lakewood.org had been the only site, everyone would have flocked there.
3. Was there any cost to the City of Lakewood for Peoplespeak/Lakewoodspeaks services prior to 2018? If so, specify.
4. What is the difference between online software for town hall meetings and other public hearings? You stated there were many legal considerations around open meeting laws. Could you elaborate on this?
5. Your photo has a prominent place on the Peoplespeak website describing you as the Public/Private Innovations Advisor. What exactly does that position entail? Do you provide any services as an advisor? Do you receive any form of compensation or perks from your association with this company? Your many credentials including your position as Planning Director for Lakewood are noted and you said these lend credibility to the service. To downplay the importance of your photo, you mentioned that the Mayor and your Wheatridge counterpart were also pictured on the page. However, the Mayor and Wheatridge Planning Director are featured to provide brief testimonials about Peoplespeak. Why did you try to equate their roles in relation to the company with yours?
6. You have stated that you along with Lakewood staff have maintained an informal relationship with Peoplespeak. Which staff members are you referring to? Are you or any of these staff members aware of the many problems that have occurred on this site? Has anyone discussed these issues with the company? Is there anyone who serves as a liaison between the company and the city? If so, who? Should it be acceptable that a problem persists even after the provider has been notified?
I recognize that there are a lot of questions here but you basically provided me with a cherry picked document that extolled the many virtues of the company. Perhaps you just weren’t aware of the difficulties constituents experience with the site. Consider yourself informed.
From: Travis Parker
Date: March 22, 2023 at 7:12:09 PM MDT
To: Lenore Herskovitz
Subject: RE: Article from the Lakewood Informer
Lenore,
I am sorry, but I don’t agree with the premise of your position or the spirit of the questions you are asking.
In discussions I’ve had with other local communities about Lakewood Speaks, do you know the most common comment I hear? They say that it is a fantastic idea and that every community should be using it, but that they probably won’t start using it. The reason is that any innovation, no matter how well intentioned or successful, will be attacked by members of the community who (for unrelated reasons) don’t like the current city government. It is far safer for local government employees to do nothing at all and play it safe than to make improvements to the government for the benefit of the community.
I’ve dedicated my entire career to public service and I contributed a lot of my time and knowledge and energy to helping create Lakewood Speaks; not for recognition or pay (of course I’ve never received nor asked for compensation beyond my job), but because it was the right thing to do to make government decision making more accessible. Attacking something like that, something clearly intended to increase access and transparency, only exemplifies and exacerbates the problem of working in local government. Attacks like this are the reason local government employees have been conditioned to do as little as possible.
The path to real improvement in any field (government, education, business, etc.) is positive reinforcement. If you want to improve Lakewood’s government write an article praising someone doing something that you agree with. Submit a bonus recommendation for an employee taking initiative. Do anything to encourage positive action and going beyond the minimum job expectations. Throwing stones stifles initiative and is never the path to a better world.
As always, I’d be happy to have a real conversation by phone or in person. If you want to quote me, please quote this entire email.
Best,
Travis
There were many questions presented to Mr. Parker. Unfortunately he chose not to answer them but rather to deflect and create a diversion from the issues at hand. Problems can only be fixed when they are acknowledged.
For further information, the following download contains a more complete set of communications with Mr. Parker beginning March 2, 2023. There is an overlap and repetition of my questions to Mr. Parker (dated March 10, 2023) and his subsequent reply.
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