Busting assumptions and broadening perspectives

Further to my thoughts re: the importance of improving how we communicate with our constituents … 

‎”Real knowledge is to know the extent of our own ignorance.” – Confucius

Waterloo Chronicle article: Looking back at 2011

I missed the deadline for submitting my responses to the Chronicle’s questions … as Finance Chair, I was focused on the budget process throughout the month of December.  As a mom, I was focused on getting my family back in town and ready for Christmas.  As a grad student, I had some important deadlines to meet…this request fell off the pile.  And really … don’t you all see enough of my name in the papers?

The questions provided a good opportunity to reflect on an exciting year.

http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/community/did-they-make-the-grade/

1) In what ways or on what issue, has council shown a strong performance this year?

The strength of this council lies in its energetic commitment to Waterloo and our collective vision of a healthy and progressive community. I believe that Waterloo Council has the responsibility to balance the fiscal, social, environmental, and cultural needs of our rapidly growing community. This will never be a simple task, but Waterloo Council works exceptionally well together – not always agreeing, but always striving to find good solutions to the tough issues that we face on a weekly basis.

I am proud that Waterloo Council upped the level of public scrutiny on the LRT project. Whether you support LRT or not, it is important for all of our citizens to pay close attention to the financing and implementation of this infrastructure project that will fundamentally change the face of Waterloo.

On a personal note, my post-graduate studies have been very exciting and my ongoing research on the optimization of our citizen advisory committees promises to fundamentally change how we engage with these important community partners.

2) In what ways or on what issue, has council come up short?

I believe that we need to do a better job of communicating with our citizens. In my experience, most of our divisive issues erupt when there are significant gaps in information. The saying “never let the facts get in the way of a good opinion” comes to mind … we need to work harder to ensure that our community has good information and more timely access to that information. The old school expectation that a citizen must come to a council meeting to know what is going on at the city is limiting … we need to purposefully communicate with our constituents, in their environments. A key part of this will involve the effective use of new and emerging forms of communication – ie, social media outlets like Twitter.

3) What will be council’s biggest challenge in 2012?

Our biggest challenge will be to stay focused on the big picture. On a daily basis, issues pop up that can derail departmental work plans, force band-aid solutions to be enacted reactively, and create conflict on council and in the community. The balance between politics and leadership is tenuous … politicians want everyone to be happy and will say anything to make that happen, while leaders realize that tough decisions need to be made and toes may get stepped on. We need to work hard to be leaders.