Keep Public Meetings Public!
Local Governments
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When Covid-19 shut down in-person public meetings, these critical public meetings suddenly became much more accessible online and by phone. Suddenly people were able to engage in public meetings from home or work, without taking hours to wait in person! Meetings are much more accessible, reducing some of the bias in who is able to participate.
In-person-only meetings amplify the privileged and silence the disadvantaged. Those who are able to engage their city governments in person have the luxuries of time, good health, mobility, transportation, and child / dependent care. These barriers shut out some voices from public discourse. The work of Katherine Einstein documents that public meeting participants are more likely to be white, male, older, and own a home than others in their community.
The progress we've made in making public meetings more accessible to the public should not be lost. Sign this petition to demand that public meetings stay public!
Participating Organizations
YIMBY Action
Brown Act Online
Abundant Housing LA
Catalyze SV
Climate Action Campaign
Greenbelt Alliance
Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County
Peninsula for Everyone
People for Housing Orange County
Thrive, The Alliance of Nonprofits for San Mateo County
Ventura County YIMBY
If your organization would like to sign on, email hello@yimbyaction.org.
Sponsored by
Additional Sponsors
To:
Local Governments
From:
[Your Name]
We, the undersigned, are calling on our local governments to keep public meetings open, online and accessible. We can be productive and be heard when participants engage across a variety of platforms — in person, online, or via phone.
The social distancing protocols in place since March have shown us that in-person attendance is not a requirement to be productive. In response to the “stay-at-home” order, cities moved public meetings online. The transition was sometimes challenging, but we grew more proficient as the weeks went by. Since then, local governments and public agencies across California have used online public meetings to conduct public business and collect public comment. Now, some organizations are going “digital by default,” announcing that employees can continue to work remotely indefinitely. Local governments must follow this trend and maintain remote participation by the public.
As California Governor Newsom said: there is no going back to normal. There is a new normal with adaptations and modifications. As communities return to in-person meeting formats, we must not regress. City leaders must make online participation at public meetings part of the new normal. Our public discussion is better and more inclusive when participants engage across a variety of platforms — in-person, online on video, or by phone.
In-person-only meetings amplify the privileged and silence the disadvantaged. Those who are able to engage their city governments in-person have the luxuries of time, good health, mobility, transportation, and child / dependant care. These barriers shut out some voices from public discourse. The work of Katherine Einstein documents that public meeting participants are more likely to be white, male, older, and own a home than others in their community. The most vulnerable people are also the ones who have the most trouble attending hours-long, in-person meetings. The “new normal” offers us an opportunity to expand public participation and accelerate the implementation of digital practices in local government. Let us expand remote participation and make our communities more inclusive.
We will strengthen our democracy by including the voices of people who cannot participate in-person; often they are the ones who most need to be heard.