[Noisebridge-discuss] Web Based Services for Community/Citizen Participation in Decision Making Process,

Asa Dodsworth moped45 at gmail.com
Mon Sep 26 21:59:40 UTC 2011


Dear NoiseBridge,
there is an interesting web based citizen polling program in Berkeley, it
aims to engage the voters that cannot otherwise attend meetings.
Elected's pose questions or resolutions, and the public is allowed to vote
on them.
But to pose questions to the public, elected and appointed commissioners
must pay $240/yr.
Thought $240/yr is hefty, it is not too much for elected's to pay, but it is
far too much for appointed citizen commissioners who volunteer their time..

When it was "Open Town Hall" was originally released to the public it was
called "Kitchen Democracy" and allowed anyone to propose a question.
The questions were reviewed and approved, or rejected by that same community
through a voting and commentary process..
It was a wiki decision making, democracy project, and I was very excited.

At them time the citizens who participated most were the appointed volunteer
citizen commissioners and neighborhood organizers,
And though it had started as a project released through the most
conservative networks in Berkeley, it gradually became reflective of the
population in general.
At the point that it truly became reflective of the population in general,
they closed it down, and when the reopened it, it was with the hefty poll
tax.
And Gordon Wozniac, arguably the most conservative council person in
Berkeley, was the only one using it.
He has gotten other conservative council people to sign onto the process,
but still his office is the only one that uses it to pose questions.

Do you wondrous and knowledgeable people know of any products like this?
Preferably ones with lower poll taxes, when I have asked "OpenTownHall"
about reducing the costs for volunteer commissioners, I have been rebuffed.
http://www.peakdemocracy.com/portals/30/Forum_254/Issue_779?a=100


asa dodsworth
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.noisebridge.net/pipermail/noisebridge-discuss/attachments/20110926/fa352fd4/attachment-0002.html>


More information about the Noisebridge-discuss mailing list