Engage the People
The bond between the public and the Village’s elected Board is broken. Nowhere has this break been more evident than in the disconnect between the unanimous thumbs-up vote by all the Skokie Caucus Party members of the Village Board for a Carvana used-car glass vending tower, and the hundreds of overwhelmingly opposed public voices citing numerous well-thought-out economic and environmental reasons.
Skokie Alliance for Electoral Reform campaign
Indeed, the Carvana vote was the wake-up call that provided momentum to the grassroots Skokie Alliance for Electoral Reform campaign that I co-founded and chaired to a resounding victory just six months after that Carvana vote, with three referendums that successfully threw open the doors to an expanded, inclusive political process. Now, residents of Skokie – in all our diversity – may run for office. Now, with the promise of contested elections breaking a lifetime of single-party rule, our votes will matter.
We need to restore the public trust.
Central to my goals as Trustee is to make it as easy as possible for residents to engage with their elected officials and the Village Board as a whole.
As Trustee, I will:
Co-create a new Comprehensive Plan for the Village of Skokie with Skokie residents. The current plan is badly written and outdated. The Village should incorporate focus groups throughout the Village in a variety of venues.
Reform the ineffectual “public comment” process at Village Board and Commission meetings with a public participation process that allows residents to introduce ideas along the lines of the Citizen Campaign’s Model Municipal Public Participation Ordinance
Open the process for attracting new and diverse members of Boards and Commissions by outreach to underrepresented populations in Skokie, including people with disabilities, recent immigrants and English-language learners.
Solicit resident input not only through surveys, but also gatherings throughout Skokie.
Redesign the Village Board room to situate the Village Board at the level of the public and seated at a round table, similar to other municipalities. This conveys trust, equality and a desire for community consensus.