The Anchorage Assembly has scheduled a work session for July 25 titled “Worksession Draft AR for Better Public Meetings Project.” While the meeting’s time and location are publicly posted on the Municipality of Anchorage’s online calendar, there are no additional details or documents available to explain the purpose or scope of the proposed resolution. The public is being kept in the dark about what constitutes a “better public meeting.”
This lack of publicly accessible information has raised concerns among citizen observers who have noted a growing pattern of the Assembly not releasing documents in a timely manner prior to its work sessions and committee meetings.
The “Better Public Meetings Project” is a national initiative by liberals ostensibly to improve the quality and effectiveness of public meetings through the use of community-engaged research, civic engagement scorecards, and civic infrastructure assessments. Spearheaded by the left-of-center National Civic League, the project worked with select pilot communities to develop strategies aimed at creating more collaborative, deliberative, and inclusive public meeting processes.
Last month, Assembly chairman Chris Constant mouthed “F-U” at a woman who was waiting to testify in a public hearing. He denied doing it, but it’s all on tape and he made his feelings clear to the woman.
A key component of the project focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion, with an emphasis on making public meetings more accessible and welcoming to community members who may not typically participate in government proceedings.
The project is funded by the American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation.
It is currently unclear whether Anchorage is applying to participate as a pilot community or if the Assembly is simply considering adopting some of the project’s recommended best practices. With no supporting documents posted ahead of the meeting, residents are left in the dark about the Assembly’s intentions.
The work session is scheduled for Friday, July 25, at City Hall in conference room 155. At some point before then, citizens might see documents posted at this municipal website tab.
You can bet it’s not better for the public
“Better public meetings” is assembly jibber-jabber for “less public input, less discussion from the unwashed masses and definitely less from conservatives and republicans.
Skip the meeting. Read the book Animal Farm instead.
Or, the book Tobacco Road.
“Better”, for whom?
The public meetings of the Anchorage Ass-embly would be better if the marxists on the Anchorage Ass-embly would stop being afraid of, and intolerant of, the testimony of the public, particularly the well-deserved public criticism of the marxists’ high-handed, arrogant and authoritarian tactics to suppress dissent.
I dont see any reason to have meetings in the first place.
Why not save the abuse for someone who deserves it.
Just do what ever the Emperor Chrissy wants and they can all sign it.
“with an emphasis on making public meetings more accessible and welcoming to community members who may not typically participate in government proceedings”
HOORAY!
They’re going to make dinner for my family, feed my kids, and get them to soccer practice so I can make the meetings, AND they’ll move public comment to the beginning of the meeting to accommodate my nursing-mom-with -young-kids-lifestyle! BRILLIANT.
I am just the type of person the Assembly wants to hear from, I assure you.
Suzanne, the meeting is on Friday 25th not Thursday and according to the Muni website starts at 11:50.
The very assembly that told a member of the public they were being dilatory wants better public meetings?
The assembly doesn’t want better PUBLIC-MEETINGS they want BETTER-PUBLIC meetings.
See the difference?
And what they mean by “better-public” is THEIR ideology brand of public comprised of people who will agree with whatever they want with no questions asked and no criticism.
Simple. better public meetings means either no public meetings or only who the assembly approves can speak thereof.
Scorn for the taxpayers who dare to speak out? How much anger from the taxpayers can this mob handle? SNORT!
Watch Assembly meetings morph into delphi meetings raised to an art form …all sorts of “break-out groups” assigned to decide what each group wants for itself, and what everyone else should pay for it, like a small, fair, equitable, sustainable ten or twelve percent sales tax.
.
Watch Assembly members recognize community councils as self-appointed homeowner associations who strengthen the illusion that properly organized residents have “better” access to Assembly members.
.
Assembly members behave like they’re at the top of their game, Rulers who can mouth obscenities at constituents and feel safe from hulking spouses with anger-management issues.
.
So the question is, are they at the top of their game because they have really good reasons to feel comfortably protected from law enforcement and angry non-Leftist voters?
Has anyone noticed al the beautiful art popping up around town. There is a wonderful piece on the costal trail on the bridge near post road area and 3 large ones at the city transfer station or the Dump. We must be loaded with cash.
I see that the hobos have relocated to the area of New Seward Highway from Debarr-15th to Northern Lights and in the woods along the east-west bike trail and Mulcahey area. Abolish and enforce no camping on public lands and on private lands without the express written permission of the landowner. Make the bums accountable or leave.
The template is the US constitution.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
That is the exact wording of the first amendment to the US Constitution. The Supremacy clause from the same rulebook essentially makes the constitution unassailable by lower jurisdictions.
That is all.