It is a truth universally acknowledged that you can’t make everyone happy.
The biggest complaints I’ve heard in the early stages of this race are about traffic, development, and council transparency.
But what does it mean to be transparent?
For me, it means clearly answering hard questions so people can understand.
It means hearing opinions I don’t agree with and considering those opinions logically, not emotionally.
It means sharing information in ways that people in general can access and use.
What it doesn’t mean is that everyone will hear every conversation about every issue for every vote. It doesn’t mean that everyone’s internal thought processes will be shared out loud.
The current council is actively criticized for its lack of transparency. However, all the information they have at their disposal—unless it’s executive session content— is open to the public. It’s all on the website, the app, or can be requested via the Freedom of Information Act.
Council workshops, which I look forward to participating in, are broadcast on Facebook and saved on the city’s web site. Citizens can even attend.
Conversations, reading, and questioning happen before a first reading ever occurs at a meeting. The city posts the information the council receives and if anyone wants to know what’s going on, it is their responsibility to access it.
It’s easy to armchair quarterback every action taken by our city council members, but unless you’ve made the effort to take part, I don’t think it’s fair to criticize.
I do think there could be improvements. There is A LOT of information on the city website, and I think some of it could be better organized. The city’s social media could be utilized more. Council members could express their reasons for their votes prior to calling for votes. Several little things could make a big difference.
One of my goals as your next mayor is to leverage the powers of social media, cellphones, and general technology to make sure information is dispersed in as many ways as possible.
When we were all locked down during the COVID pandemic, one thing I really appreciated about Savannah Mayor Van Johnson were his Friday night FB live conversations. He’d get on and review current news and take questions. I’ve never lived in Savannah proper, but I tuned in because I appreciated the information and the personal touch. That was transparency in action.
My question for you: What do you consider transparency? What would a transparent council in action look like for you?
Please comment and let’s talk about what true transparency looks like in action. Use the comment section below and lets have a good conversation.
And, if you like what I have to say, please consider donating to my campaign. Election materials are expensive and as a public school teacher with six children and nine grands, that grocery budget hurts!
