Marcia Avner

Dog walking on this very cold morning, I was warmed by reflections on insightful writings about the role of citizens and organizations in advancing good public policy. The January 2007 issue of the Citizens League’s MN Journal is one of the best “reads” to cross my kitchen table in a long time.

In “Viewpoint: Voice in my Head,” Sean Kershaw, Executive Director of the Citizens League, urges full participation in the practice of politics in the best sense of the word: how we get things done in public life. I think about politics as the role we play in making decisions about how we care for one another, our communities, and the land. And Sean urges us to be, not the audience watching the legislative show, but engaged citizens. His is the best advice of the 2007 session. “The best way to changes politics (and therefore policy) is to find out how to get out of our seats and become part of the production…embrace our roles as actors in this important Minnesota policy process.”

Sean captures what I think is exciting about the work of the session and beyond: it is our opportunity to address short and long term needs with fully informed and engaged participation by the people affected by the decisions.

In the lead article, Arne Carlson and Walter F. Mondale, partners in problelm solving and in modeling how to get over partisan divides, begin a critical examination of how to reform legislative redistricting. With the 2008-2010 elections already being seen as important for the very reason that they will shape redistricting, they make the case for a redesign that promotes competitive elections. A stunning idea! This is sure to launch a sometimes thoughtful and occasionally fiery dialogue…and the Citizens League invites us all into the foundational analysis.

Mark Ritchie sums it all up: “Politics shouldn’t be a spectator sport.”

Read it all at http://citizensleague.org, mull it over, take it to heart, and get moving! Own our politics and policy direction.