Do you Pinterest? Should candidates or electeds?

The White House just started a Pinterest account which you can see here. (Here's a primer on Pinterest.) And more and more, public servants and government entities are using Pinterest.

I started a Pinterest for a day job project I ran for about 16 months and I started a personal one to catalogue bucket list items and presents I could show my husband for Chanukah (yes, really - probably TMI there).

I'm kind of an early adopter of sorts and don't mind failing if something just isn't doing it for me. What do you think?

In The Arena, Untabbed*: 12/15/10

1. Voters in Beachwood, Pepper Pike's neighbor to the west, approved an increase in their income tax rate, from 1.5% to 2.0%, in November's election.   Residents who work outside Beachwood receive a complete credit on the income tax they pay to those locales. Edited in: Residents who work and live in Beachwood will see their income tax increase to .5%.  That means that the income tax increase will only be paid by people who work in Beachwood, but do not live in Beachwood, as well as those who live and work in Beachwood, but not those who live in Beachwood but work outside Beachwood.

2. In Arizona, "Tea Party Activists In Arizona Protest Changes In Trash Collection, New Recycling Program."  Russell, Ohio is facing a similar lawsuit. The argument?

[Russell resident David] Golden’s complaint claims the bidding process was unfair and will harm residents by depriving them of the “right to contract with whomever” they choose for trash hauling services.

3. An Ohio State Senator, Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster), has been trying to get our state legislators to cut their salaries since the beginning of 2010, in recognition of the hard times Ohioans are having, even though the savings is only in the hundreds of thousands. Many of his colleagues? Not interested.  Their base pay remains approximately $60,600.

4. I don't think anyone actually thinks I'm kidding, because I'm not. But here's more information about running for and winning elected office in the 21st Century: How Calgary's Mayor Used Social Media to Get Elected.  I'm going to have to start charging for advice on how to run and win office soon, especially if this City Council thing doesn't work out.

One Year (Almost) Down, Three To Go

(Unless I get recalled.)

It's been too long since I've blogged here (no posts since November 3), and even longer since I wrote a post with any substance (at least a couple of posts in September).   In truth, no more than 15 to 25 people have read this blog on any regular basis, although I often would "tweet" out a post, have it on Facebook or include a link in the emails I was sending out regularly through September.

I also tested out a live-chat a few times and it had well over 25 readers (the read-it-back feature has been very popular). I utilized the tool Scribd.com for placing public documents online so that residents who have been unable to open pdfs could finallyopen them. (Unfortunately, Scribd.com changed its interface and many of those documents I uploaded in the first few months of this year no longer exist at the Scribd account then in use; I've started a new one and will continue to upload items to it for people's reference).

And, as I was reminded just this past Sunday (to my pleasant but kind of bittersweet surprise since I've not sent any lately), my email blasts, which have been overwhelmingly well-received, have tapered off since September 30 (okay, tapered off isn't the right word - that was the date of the last one I sent).

I apologize for this fall-off.  It's not due to a lack of activity, drama or news related to Pepper Pike or in my household or writing career (which was extremely packed during the eight weeks in and around the November midterm elections) for that matter.

It is my expectation that come January, the email blasts and the blog posts will resume.  I look forward to hearing more about what people liked and didn't like about any of these tools I've deployed to initiate and improve communications between at least one elected official and the residents.  I have received feedback over these last 11 months and appreciate all of it.

I took this on, and I plan on continuing to work at meeting the challenges.

I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable December and New Years and thank you, as always, for letting me serve this City.

Call To Action Speech

I do not like to cross-post many things from my personal blog, Writes Like She Talks, but several Pepper Pike residents have asked about my keynote in New York City this past week. You can read about it, read the speech itself and see photos of the speech here.  Thanks for your interest.

Citizen-Engagement Communities: we could scale this, right?

I'm signed up for a variety of information sources related to Gov 2.0 initiatives.  I just received, through a listserv, notice about communities that have been designated as Citizen-Engaged Communities. Now, of course, maybe not all communities want to be citizen engaged communities - I think we know that I come from the perspective that would say to that, "Say what?"  But to be fair, I can make room for the knowledge that not everyone believes in it the way I do.  And sometimes there are understandable reasons, but not, most likely, ones which I'd give a high enough priority to outweigh the pursuit of citizen-engagement.

One of the member communities with the Public Technology Institute is Upper Arlington, Ohio.  Their population is just over 33,000.  Pepper Pike is still significantly smaller, and there may be some smaller cities on this list.  But they do have a nice looking (and new) setup.  I think it's kind of soft, not overcrowded, clear, simple but with all the basics covered...what do you think?

The question remains, though, in regard to stepping it up: do we need it, and can we scale it?* Thinking cap on and I'm thinking...there must be a way...right?

*Don't worry - the "can we afford it?" question isn't even on the table.  I know the answer to that one. ;)

Pepper Pike Blogger & Teen Featured in Today's Plain Dealer

You can read the article, "Julie Zeilinger, creator of thefbomb.org, examines teen feminist issues," here and the blog, thefbomb.org, here.  Do not miss this profile of a young woman with passion, initiative, creativity, questions and answers. An excerpt:

In the year since she launched thefbomb.org – the "f" stands for feminist, of course -- [Julie] Zeilinger has counted more than 356,000 visitors to her blog, which has been mentioned by the London Guardian, the Huffington Post, Salon.com, the BBC, Mother Jones and the Ethiopian Review. Its topics range from gay rights to bullying to prom-going. Her submitters are mostly young feminists from Britain, Spain, Germany, Italy, Africa, Russia, China and South America, and all around the United States – 193 countries thus far.

They come to site because Zeilinger, a Hawken junior, has discovered an Internet void. She found that while teenagers often weighed in on posts on other feminist blogs, they didn't originate essays. "The only time there was a teen perspective was in the comments section," she said. "If our voice was there at all, it was getting lost."

I feel very lucky to have met Julie and cannot wait to get to know her better and see what she does next.

What Is Transparency?

So, this is one of those very interesting realities of being "in the arena" versus being strictly in the media or in the audience: during an Executive Session of Council last week, as noted on the Special Council Session's agenda, we discussed the situation with our city's police union. Today's Chagrin Solon Sun article, "Layoff possibility looms for Pepper Pike Police Department as city demands wage cuts of up to 30 percent; new offer being discussed," follows up on that fact.

When I was contacted by the Sun earlier this week, I dutifully said, I can't discuss this topic because we discussed it in Executive Session and I'm not allowed to say anything.  Yet apparently, some information was already out on the street and the reporter - also true to duty - was trying to figure out fact from fiction and report as accurately and completely on what the media was hearing, preferably with input from the City's elected officials.  Eventually, as the article reveals, the Mayor and one of my colleagues were able to address the reporter's questions.

That was actually the second time this week that I said "no" to a reporter - and I hated it both times (the other time had to do with a request for the draft FAQs related to the budget situation; we'd passed out the draft to Council and during the meeting, discussed the need for input, but not the content of the document itself, so it was ruled to not be a public record).

Mayor Susan Whelchel of Boca Raton, where many Pepper Pikers winter, blogs, tweets and Facebooks

Many thanks to my mother for emailing me about Mayor Susan Whelchel's blog.  Of particular interest will be her front page information, which is all about the efforts they've been making in the face of budget constraints.  That information, however, does need to be put into perspective, especially for anyone who has never been to Boca: it's a big city with many revenue sources, including massive tourism - something I'm thinking Pepper Pike just isn't about to start relying on (or having too much of). But regardless, Mayor Whelchel has a bona fide Internet presence, even through just a simple ole Yahoo blog.

City Budget Shortfalls: Thoughts From a Former, Republican Lucas County Commissioner

Maggie Thurber is a former Lucas County Commissioner who has a multi-media presence in NW Ohio (blogging at Thurber's Thoughts and hosting radio programs in particular). She also is one of the very few female political bloggers in Ohio and even fewer female conservative political bloggers, which is how I came to learn about her. She has not been immune to controversy, but that controversy has absolutely zero to do with blogging, just to be clear.

Because her credentials are solidly in the conservative column (Americans for Prosperity named her 2008 Blogger of the Year), I offer up her post, "It's started - doom and gloom if Toledo doesn't get more tax dollars from its citizens," of hers for Pepper Pike residents to read.  As I wrote Maggie in a comment on that blog post, I agree with her theory that tax cuts can help growth.  But I view that as a long-term step to be included as an option in a long-term, strategic plan for a city.  It does not, as far as I know, do a thing to solve current and predicted shortfalls in payroll obligations and nonpayroll operations.

Blogging South Euclid City Government

Someone is - I'm not sure who though but my guess is that it's not an elected official, though I could be wrong. 

South Euclid Oversight has archives going back to March of 2007 and I see the use of video and Scribd in its most recent post.  The mayor of South Euclid is Georgine Welo, whom I met very briefly once a couple of months ago.  Its city council members are listed here (you have to go to "Inside City Hall" and then click on "City Council" and then click on the individual members' names).  Anyone with experience or knowledge, feel free to share.

New Stow Council Member Mike Rasor Blogs On Council

Mike Rasor is a third year law school student who ran for and won a seat on the Stow City Council. He maintained a blog, Rasor For Stow, about his experience running for office and winning, and now he is using it to chronicle Stow City Council and his experiences and thoughts as he serves the Stow community. As he wrote in one post just after his win:

I plan to re-launch this Web site in January after my inauguration. Why? Not for campaign purposes, but because Stow residents need to know what’s going on in their city.

So far, Mike seems to be writing in an extremely candid way. As a fellow blogging council member, I am glad to read that and wish him luck.

The Pepper Pike Bloggers Among Us

Yes - I'm not the only one.

Dr. Roxanne Sukol has a site called TeachMed and a blog that goes with it called, Your Health is On Your Plate.

Jamie Ginsberg maintains numerous online applications. His blog is Social Media Strategy - Effective Networking Made Simple.

And Ursuline College has a MySpace page - for alumnae.

Did you know that the Landerwood Swim Club has a website? (Did you know the Landerwood Swim Club exists? Don't worry - I didn't either until I moved to Pepper Pike.)

Why Would/Should an Elected Official Blog?

Many articles, books, seminars, radio shows and televised programs have addressed this question. But for the purpose of understanding why an elected official might want to blog and out in public, I strongly suggest you read this article, "The State of Blogging: Lawmakers are creating blogs to get their constituents involved," from the National Council of State Legislatures. I've found NCSL to be a fantastic resource for all kinds of issues and encourage you to visit their website if the opportunity arises.  But be careful - like any other resource-rich URL, you may find yourself into the labyrinth of information far further and longer than you expected.

It was published in May 2008 and here's a teaser:

Recent profiles of Macon, Georgia City Councilman who just happens to be preeminent political blogger

Erick Ericson is the Editor-in-Chief of RedState.com, one of the most well-known and often-referenced political blogs that is written from the conservative point of view.  I do not know Erick, though I know of him.  Since his election in 2007 to the Macon, GA City Council, he also has continued to blog at Confessions of a Political Junkie and PeachPundit, a blog that focuses on Georgia politics.

Articles about Erick have been published recently (one just yesterday) because of his prominence in conservative politics and in particular, his current approach to the Republican Party and Republicans.

The two that I've read include the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's "Georgia political blogger holds nothing back" and from the St. Petersburg Times, "The man behind RedState.com shakes up the Republican Party."

Preparing For The Arena

Because I knew this blog would be the first one ever written and published by a Pepper Pike City Council member, and because of my experiences as a blogger over the last five years, I've already spent time researching how other elected officials manage communications and engagement with citizens via social media and web-based tools such as blogs.

Here are just a few of the resources I've consulted so far:

In The Arena

One of Theodore Roosevelt's most famous quotes inspired the name of this blog:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Roosevelt delivered these words as part of his speech, Citizenship in the Republic, at La Sorbonne on April 23, 1910. The famous "man in the arena" portion needs little updating for the 21st Century, so I've named this blog in honor of the distinction the passage identifies: to analyze and critique elected officials from outside the political arena in which they function is far different from being that elected official who must analyze and make decisions from inside that arena.