Snow and Circus

Well it has been quite the circus out there. Actually I have found it to be quite relaxing in a weird sort of way. This is the first time in a while that I have actually spent two solid days with my family, without having anything planned out in advance. Of course, I would rather not have had to shovel out the house and cars, but hey, we live in Vermont, not Florida. The kids of course had a blast as well. This is the first really big snowfall that Elsa has seen as a kid (as opposed to a baby).

You know the nice thing about the old fashioned circus is that it came to the people. Before the advent of the automobile it was just too difficult for folks to travel very far so the circus would go around on a circuit and when it came to town, it was a big event. So between the weather and one of the forums that I attended the other night, I started thinking, if people want to be included in the process, but cannot bring themselves to the process, why not bring the process to them? Why can't the City Council go on a type of "road show" from time to time and hold meetings in the Schools and Senior Centers. This way it might be easier for these two populations (folks with young kids and older folks) to attend City Council meetings from time to time.

In addition, we need to make it easier for both of these two populations to actually be able to get to City Council meetings. For the folks with young kids, that means providing child care on site. We had child care set up at the Democratic Mayoral Caucus last year and it worked out great. There were dozens of children there and the parents got the opportunity to participate in the caucus. For the older folks the biggest problem is transportation since many of them do not drive. We need to seriously consider investing in a shuttle system to stop at the main senior centers and provide transportation to Council Meetings. Are both of these ideas going to cost something? Of course. Is that cost worth something? Yes it is because it will allow two traditionally "handicapped" groups to have greater access and participation in city government. Because process without access is meaningless.

Hope you are shoveled out and warm.

Best,
Ed