By Alexander Lomax Former Scottsdale City Councilmember Tammy Caputi recently raised concerns about proposed changes to the city’s Rules of Council Procedure, scheduled for consideration on December 2. Her message has sparked an important conversation about what it means to truly engage with residents, even when that engagement is messy, time-consuming, or uncomfortable. The proposed amendments would restructure public participation … Read More
Defending Our Democracy
By Alexander Lomax You, the voter, fairly overwhelmingly used your voice last election when you stated loudly at the polls that you wanted stable funding for our parks combined with a tax cut. Propositions 490 and 491 performed exceedingly well, thus securing our financial future. You also used your voice with your signature, with well over 25,000 of you signing … Read More
A Lesson in How Not to Be Transparent: Glendale Silences Voices of Citizens
Good government covers a number of different disciplines and facets. We all want a government that is responsive to our needs, listens to the citizenry, uses our money efficiently, and is transparent in what it does. Rarely is any particular government perfect in all of these facets, but we expect at least an acceptable effort in all of them. This … Read More