By Deborah Bier, Publisher and Editor of ConcordMA.com and this blog
Regularly, I am contacted privately by proponents of projects I've spoken about questioningly or negatively on the Concord Discussion List, the Concord Magazine or this blog. They want to meet with me in person or over the phone. They are often committee members or other Town officials. I am usually not acquainted with these people, so we can guess they are courting my vote.
I want to clearly state my policy here. I will not meet privately with strangers over town issues on which they feel I hold an opposing view to theirs. The very best way to bring me on board any project is to be open, accessible, and responsive publicly to any concerns that exist, and to provide maximum information to the public. It's not me you need to convince of anything, but the voting public in general.
Therefore, I will not return your calls or emails. And no, it's not particularly gracious or friendly of me. But the point isn't about being gracious and friendly; it's that I insist that we have the greatest amount of public dialog and information possible.
I trust that those who similarly believe in the importance of public exchange will bring their information forward in a fully open manner so many can participate.
There are several avenues available to each of us. If you are a citizen or Town official (employee, elected or appointed person), you can go to the relevant committees and ask to be put on their agenda for a public meeting. You may send a press release or letter to the editor to the Concord Journal, or ask them to do a news story about your information. You may join the Concord Discussion List -- it is widely circulated through membership and forwarded messages. Best yet: take ALL of these avenues -- yes, it takes time, but public information and education about the issues is just that important.
Regularly, I am contacted privately by proponents of projects I've spoken about questioningly or negatively on the Concord Discussion List, the Concord Magazine or this blog. They want to meet with me in person or over the phone. They are often committee members or other Town officials. I am usually not acquainted with these people, so we can guess they are courting my vote. I want to clearly state my policy here. I will not meet privately with strangers over town issues on which they feel I hold an opposing view to theirs. The very best way to bring me on board any project is to be open, accessible, and responsive publicly to any concerns that exist, and to provide maximum information to the public. It's not me you need to convince of anything, but the voting public in general.
Therefore, I will not return your calls or emails. And no, it's not particularly gracious or friendly of me. But the point isn't about being gracious and friendly; it's that I insist that we have the greatest amount of public dialog and information possible.
I trust that those who similarly believe in the importance of public exchange will bring their information forward in a fully open manner so many can participate.
There are several avenues available to each of us. If you are a citizen or Town official (employee, elected or appointed person), you can go to the relevant committees and ask to be put on their agenda for a public meeting. You may send a press release or letter to the editor to the Concord Journal, or ask them to do a news story about your information. You may join the Concord Discussion List -- it is widely circulated through membership and forwarded messages. Best yet: take ALL of these avenues -- yes, it takes time, but public information and education about the issues is just that important.
