Livable Raleigh supports today’s proposal for community engagement put forward by Councilors Jones and Harrison. You don’t have to wait for your council retreat at the end of January where you will be discussing your longer-term solutions, you could act tonight to give CACs access to community centers with a simple motion and a vote directing staff to make it happen.
Congratulations to the new members of the council. I am hoping your election will lead to a new climate of openness and citizen cooperation from this new council, and not just from the new members.
With the election of four new Councilors, Raleigh voters have made it clear that restoring and improving city support for the public’s involvement in community affairs is a top priority. After three years, the voters know that waiting for a perfect solution is unrealistic and will only further delay city support for the essential and imperfect community conversations that are the foundation of an informed democracy. It is with this sense of purpose that the Livable Raleigh Advisory Committee offers six policy-level proposals for quick adoption. Our hope is that these proposals will have several positive effects:
In one of the wealthiest cities in the wealthiest country in the world, we have neither the personal ethics nor the appropriate infrastructure and educational, monitoring and enforcement efforts to responsibly manage the enormous detritus of our privileged daily lives. Our recycling efforts are on the level of a third world country. And, yes, I realize that is a derogatory term. We deserve it.