Hope for Calendar Clarity and More
It may well be that those who attend the City Council agenda-fixing session at Washington Community School Monday will see a comprehensive calendar proposal for 2009 presented by Council President Rashid Burney.
Changing the calendar in midstream, as opposed to starting off a year with changes, has its pitfalls. The council has already published a calendar for 2009, but those who dutifully ticked off the dates in whatever way they have of keeping track of important dates will now have to revise them. And it's not only the dates, but also the locations that changed under a new initiative of meeting at schools in the city's four wards.
It will be the City Council's burden to prove that this initiative will increase neighborhood participation. I hope somebody keeps count of attendance and deducts the usual suspects, such as favored vendors, patronage jobholders and politicians. As we used to make the distinction in the news biz, we did not necessarily want quotes from the star players, but from "real people," aka those with a genuine concern for the issues, who are not carrying water for the pols.
Also between now and the March 2 school board filing date (4 p.m. at the Administration Building, 1200 Myrtle Ave.) residents will have made their decisions to run for three three-year school board seats. It is Plaintalker's hope that a a broad and diverse group of candidates will emerge.
--Bernice Paglia
Changing the calendar in midstream, as opposed to starting off a year with changes, has its pitfalls. The council has already published a calendar for 2009, but those who dutifully ticked off the dates in whatever way they have of keeping track of important dates will now have to revise them. And it's not only the dates, but also the locations that changed under a new initiative of meeting at schools in the city's four wards.
It will be the City Council's burden to prove that this initiative will increase neighborhood participation. I hope somebody keeps count of attendance and deducts the usual suspects, such as favored vendors, patronage jobholders and politicians. As we used to make the distinction in the news biz, we did not necessarily want quotes from the star players, but from "real people," aka those with a genuine concern for the issues, who are not carrying water for the pols.
Also between now and the March 2 school board filing date (4 p.m. at the Administration Building, 1200 Myrtle Ave.) residents will have made their decisions to run for three three-year school board seats. It is Plaintalker's hope that a a broad and diverse group of candidates will emerge.
--Bernice Paglia
posted by Bernice at 5:56 PM
2 Comments:
The dates and locations are not the issue. Midstream (though February is hardly mid-stream) is not the issue.
The number of people attending is not the measurement to use. The issue is will anything get done or will anything change for the better?
If better things happens, then this program will be a success.
I think that Plainfield has been in a rut, and this is a great way to shake the dust off old ways. I understand that the "old guard" (respectfully called), does not like the change. But, has there been any measurable difference? Are things in this city great because of where the meetings have been held? Changing the venue may allow more people to be involved, maybe not. But, is there anything to lose? Let's get behind the council, and give it the good old college try. The worst that will happen is things will go back the old way.
Post a Comment
<< Home