Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending an impromptu neighborhood barbeque at Beaver Meadows. One of the residents went door to door yesterday, invited the neighbors for a get to know each other event and then invited me to attend as well. Beaver Meadows is a sub division that is still under construction and contains Pacific’s newest residents. I appreciated the invite (and the Brats) and enjoyed meeting these new citizens to our city.
One thing on the invite though that I need to comment on. Mike, the resident who invited me included the following in his e-mail, “This was planned just as an opportunity for all of us to meet each other. No agenda, no ambush for you, but thought you might like the chance to press the flesh a little.” I appreciated his candor, but I believe that any elected official who is afraid of meeting with his (or her) citizens probably should not be in office. Although I will admit things do not always go the way I would like them to be, I have no problem standing behind decisions I have made or actions I have taken.
I would love to see more citizens have these little informal gatherings. It is a great way to meet your neighbors and find issues that you might all have in common. Inviting elected officials to them is also a great idea as it provides a bit more of a one on one opportunity for neighbors to voice concerns and for electeds to see firsthand the issues that citizens need addressed.
No comments:
Post a Comment