[Dialogue] Creating Citizen Participation at the state level

[Walter Kargus]

Hi

 

For many years I have listen and read you emails and I want to thank you all
for your thoughts and feelings on

all sorts of subjects, many I have had great interest.  So I have decided to
engage you and participate with the

rest of you.  Many may have thought I dropped off the face of the earth, but
I have only been off your horizon.  

This I offer you it be just the start of many online communications.

 

Many years ago we had discussed and believe also have done some in-depth
research on citizen participation

In the political process.  For those of you who remember, I would like to
pick your brain.  For those who have not

participated in those discussions, I welcome your input.

 

Having participated in the Local Church Experiment back in the 70's in which
our church participated in the Parish

Tactics, I gained an understanding of working in the political arena.  Since
leaving the local congregation in 

1980, I have been engaged in networking with people who are on the inside
the Detroit City and Wayne County 

political community.  It has presented a great listening platform to
understand how things actually get accomplished.

 

With that as a context, I decided to get involved last year in State
Politics.  I live in a predominately Republican 

Area of Michigan,  the western suburbs of Wayne County of which Detroit is
the major city.  I connected with a 

Democratic candidate who showed up on my doorstep during the Primary
Election.  He was running for the House 

of Representatives for the 20th District of Michigan.  The journey to
November was a slow and unsupported campaign

by the Democratic Party.  They did not provide much support because they
focused on potential winners.  The

candidate Marc Corriveau was not one of them.  However, November showed that
an underdog can win.  We turned

the District from Red to Blue.

 

The Democratic Party woke up and to their surprise took control of the State
House.  They had been on the defensive

for so long they were not ready for this win.  They had to run to do an
internal paradigm shift.  Marc has now 

become Number 1 in the party's eyes.  He has been given chairman of the
Ethics Committee along with membership on

Education Committee and Health Committee.  The Democratic Party has laid out
a concept of building Constituent

Relations with the citizens in the District.  Their aim is to build a strong
bond between Marc and the citizen in which

the next election in 2008 can be assured.

 

Knowing what that includes I have been hired to be the District Coordinator
to make this happen.  The KEY to winning

people's  commitment will be the Internet.  I am in the process of
developing a proposal for a Web Site that is the Node

through which we reach out to the community in a new way.  Marc's schedule
includes being in the District on Monday

and Friday along with other events on Saturday.  He commutes to Lansing
every day for Legislative Sessions on Tuesday

through Thursday.  So in addition to this schedule, the task is to be seen
everywhere while becoming effective in the 

House during his two year term.

 

The questions to you that I would like to pose are the following:

 

1.	How can we get ongoing citizen participation in political process
during these two years rather than just on election

Day?

 

2.	How can the Internet and Web Site be developed to get people
interested in politics on an ongoing basis?

 

3.	What do you do to get citizens to see the importance of engaging in
State Politics?

 

There may be other questions to be asked, that I haven't thought of, and
invite you to help me participate in a cutting edge

opportunity to develop a new model that can be reduplicated elsewhere.  

 

Also I have a new email address different from the directory:
wak3 at wowway.com   My home phone is 734-927-4563 and my

cell is 248-867-9416.

 

Thanks

 

Walt Kargus

 

PS -  I would like very much to participate in this weekend in Denver with
Jack and David as you discuss ideas on OE.

Please include me in your discussions.  Thanks.

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