From time to time there will be a topic brought up in the council that comes from committee. If the topic is controversial sometimes there will be comments from aldermen that they have not heard from people with one side or another on the matter. I suggest that perhaps we need a change.
In this presidential election year, the promise of change seems to be catching people like honey draws insects. What troubles me is that in most cases we do not know what the change is going to be. We need specifics. Here’s one.
When it comes to aldermen or county supervisors for that matter, reaching a decision when it comes time to discuss and vote for a topic, they seem to rely on citizens searching them out to air their views. Lets face it; people have opinions but are usually too busy or unwilling to communicate their views. This should not mean that their opinion on a topic doesn’t matter because they didn’t put forth an effort to express it! This is how special interest groups get their agenda through, often contrary to the popular wishes of the taxpayers.
So how can the views of an apathetic population of taxpayers be made known to our representatives? Ask them!
Have you ever be called by your alderman or county supervisor to see how you stood on a topic? I haven’t. But I’ve sure been called by people wanting to know whom I’m going to vote for, especially in the presidential elections. Why can’t we incorporate random samplings of the taxpayers before aldermen or supervisors make any decision of significance? I bet there are people that would be pleased to participate in government by calling a random list of Waukesha taxpayers and turning in the results.
It’s time that in this age of instant communication, we utilize it rather than continue to do things as we have since two centuries ago.
