Welcome to the water cooler

Update: A threaded, more easily read version of this discussion is available here.

Welcome to the water cooler, DemocracySpace’s monthly series of virtual roundtables with interesting people who are doing citizen engagement work. I’m Julie Fanselow, online organizer for the Study Circles Resource Center and your moderator for today’s session.

It’s an off-year for national elections, but many local communities are electing leadership this fall. Our topic today is how citizen engagement can change the electoral process by defusing hot-button issues, setting a more inclusive public agenda, and inviting more citizen participation in elections.

Our special guest this month is Jim Noucas, co-chair of Portsmouth Listens, which has been building citizen engagement efforts in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for many years. Portsmouth Listens has helped a wide range of residents have their say on issues ranging from the city’s master plan to environmental sustainability to whether to renovate or rebuild the local middle school.

Here’s how our water cooler will work: I will ask Jim the first question, which you will see in the comments at 1 p.m. Eastern. He will answer in the comments, too.

If you have a question for Jim, you can ask it in the comments as well. Or if you, too, would like to share a story of how study circles or other citizen engagement methods have affected the local political landscape in your community, please feel free to share that in the comments.

To make a comment or ask a question, click on the word “comments” below. A window will open where you can post your name (real names, please); email address (it will not be visible online); and, if you like, the URL of your organization or program’s website. Write your question or comment, then click “post.”

Please note: You will need to refresh your browser periodically to see the latest comments that have been posted and answered.

Thank you for stopping by for the DemocracySpace water cooler. Enjoy the discussion!

Comments

[Julie Fanselow]

Welcome, Jim, and thanks for sharing some time with us today.

In a September 16 article (click my name to read it), reporter Adam Leech of SeacoastOnline wrote, “Prior to the Portsmouth Listens study circles, some had feared the issues involving the location of the Portsmouth Middle School would decide the membership of the council. Though the issue is far from resolved, the location has more or less been decided thanks to the circles, making it less of a hot-button issue.”

Jim, how did the study circles help defuse the middle school location issue? How did Portsmouth Listens get involved, and what difference did it make?

[Jim Noucas]

The status of the Middle School was at issue for well over a year. In the fall of 2006, I spoke with one of the members on the Joint Review Committee (made up of City Councilors, School Board Members and public reps) and mentioned that I thought it would be a good issue for a study circle. The issue seemed to grow more contentious and the Joint Review Committee was deadlocked and could not make a formal recommendation when it concluded its work in approximately February 2007. At that point, people started to talk about it as the issue that would drive the next municipal election. In mid March, the Superintendent of Schools called and asked if we would do a study circle.

The impact of the Portsmouth Middle School Dialogue was to create a consensus in the community about renovating the old Middle School or building a brand new Middle School. Before the study circles, it was widely perceived that there was enormous support for building the new school. In fact, one school board member suggested that if there was a referendum, the new school would win hands down. Through four weeks of deliberation, the study circles tested the reasons behind each alternative. The conclusion of virtually all of the groups was in favor of renovating the Middle School, and the conclusions were supported by an overwhelming number of legitimate facts or reasons for doing so.

The Portsmouth Master Plan was one of the significant reasons supporting renovation. Our recently updated Master Plan was created through substantial citizen involvement through study circles. Because of that involvement, it is fair to say that people consider it an important and driving policy for the City. Many groups cited the Master Plan policy on open space/land conservation and preservation of historical assets. These policies led to the conclusion that we should conserve the large open space along Sagamore Creek as open space and preserve, by renovation, an important historical asset, the 75-year old Portsmouth Middle School building.

[Nancy Thomas]

Hi Jim and Julie: Jim, one of the things I keep hearing and reading (including in my daughter's AP history book) is that the "spirit and tradition of town meetings" is only minimally alive and well in "some parts of New England." My guess is that means you. Is there something about your community that makes this work easier? Do you have any advice for replicating what you do in big, diverse, urban areas, or rural, spread out communities?

[Julie Fanselow]

Thanks, Jim.

That same article noted that “The word ‘sustainability’ is at the tips of all candidates' tongues as many have pledged to continue environmentally conscious and forward-thinking planning the current council has made a priority.”

I know Portsmouth recently started a new series of study circles on sustainability. How have the study circles helped make sustainability such a watchword in Portsmouth?

[Jim Noucas]

Hi Nancy: Whatever size community you're in, you need to find a foothold. It takes energy to move issues and you can start with either positive or negative energy. Then you need to identify important stakeholders and explain the dialogue process. It helps if you have connections to current practitioners who can help you explain how it works to the stakeholders.

[Mica Stark]

Hi Jim,

To add on to Nancy's question. I think there is a lot of nostalgia for the New England Town Meeting. In modern times in NH, many towns have done away with town meeting day, thanks to Senate Bill 2. The deliberative process of study circles that PL has embedded into how gov't functions in Portsmouth seems more robust than traditional town meeting. My memory of the early years of PL and perhaps you can elaborate on this is - the orientating of elected officials to partnering with citizens.

[Nancy Thomas]

By "alive and well in new england," I meant that it is ONLY alive and well to a significant extent in NE. I know there are thousands of communities doing study circles all over the nation, but we need to get to scale. Thousands in a pool of millions -- when do we hit the tipping point?

[Molly Barrett]

Hello Jim and Julie,

Can you say a little more about how you brought Portsmouth residents to the table for discussions on the strategic plan? Did you have other things going on (like forums)? How did you convince people that they would really have a voice in decisions? What kinds of discussion materials did you use and how did you get at what people value in the community?

[Jim Noucas]

Hi Mica: PL started by identifying stakeholders in the community who were committed to quality of life in Portsmouth. We had already done two school study circles by that time so there was some understanding and trust in the process. Also, the topic, "How To Make Portsmouth the Best Place to Live and Work for Everyone?" was not too threatening. But, it established enormous credibility for the process and interest across the community.

[Stephen Buckley]

Did the local government actually endorse the use of a study-circle for the Master Plan? Was there an existing process for public involvement that had not worked? If so, then I'm wondering how you convinced them to admit, albeit implicitly, that you (and others?) could succeed where they had failed.

[Julie Fanselow]

As a Westerner, I have this vision of New England town meetings as being failry isolated events: That you meet one day a year and hash out all the major issues.

Study circles - if they are done consistently, as they are in Portsmouth - seem to provide a way for citizens to have a say in decisions that happen year-round, and to look far into the future to be sure things stay on track, too. I love how Portsmouth uses its master plan as a benchmark by which to measure other decisions.

[Jim Noucas]

Local government, through the Planning Board, agreed to try study circles but made it very clear to us that that was only going to be one part of the public input process. They were going to do public hearings and a big survey. They did public hearings and a survey, but I think it is fair to say that those means did not have anywhere near the impact that the study circles did.

[Nancy Thomas]

Thanks, Jim. You are right about finding an "access point" and getting some key people to give it a try. When I work in Hartford, however, people are too busy or too worn down by daily living to take the time for community conversations.

[Jim Noucas]

Julie: Attaching the study circles to the Master Plan meant that the study circles would have lasting impact. By impacting the Master Plan, the study circles impacted all actions in Portsmouth for the next ten years. This type of attachment, when possible, is critical.

[Carrie Boron]

As a fairly recent transplant to New England, I'm still adjusting to small-town governance as opposed to a county system. For instance, my town and three others are voting on whether or not to join into a regional high school, vacating our existing high school building. Each town has a different perspective on the decision and will hold its own voting drives. It would be great if all three towns could join together to develop a plan that works for everyone.

[Jim Noucas]

Nancy: You have to start small and show people what the process can do. It takes a long time and a lot of effort. We have been at it in Portsmouth since 1999. Also, attaching it to action is critical.

[Amy Malick]

Thinking about how the newspaper credits PL for defusing the issue of middle school siting, I think it's very interesting how the process seems to be holding up under some pretty tough public scrutiny. I remember a back and forth in letters to the editor about whether the dialogue on the middle school siting was inclusive of people from different backgrounds. Now, there's a committee working to hold the review committee's feet to the fire. I'm assuming that PL did a solid job of including diverse perspectives for the decision to be making its way through the political process.

[Julie Fanselow]

Nancy raises an interesting point, echoing something Molly asked above: "Can you say a little more about how you brought Portsmouth residents to the table for discussions on the strategic plan? Did you have other things going on (like forums)? How did you convince people that they would really have a voice in decisions? What kinds of discussion materials did you use and how did you get at what people value in the community?"

People are so busy. In the early days of PL, how were you able to convince them this was something that is worth their precious time?

If you're here from another community and have ideas, please add your comments on this topic, too!

[Jim Noucas]

Carrie: The three towns have lots of differences but need to get focused on what they have in common. A study circle can help them do this. The most important things are likely the things they have in common like excellence in education for all kids at a cost/investment that the community can afford. A study circle would help separate them from their separate physical turfs.

[Carrie Boron]

Thanks, Jim. The three towns just voted last night, but I have a feeling that the debate will continue. The town meetings are very contentious, so it would take a lot of work for people to come around to the idea of sitting down together in dialogue for change.

[Jim Noucas]

Amy: Every possible attempt is always made to create as much diversity among the participants. But, you can't force people to come and they can opt for other avenues such as public hearings or letters. More importantly, the process creates a "marketplace of ideas" with the best ideas, supported by sound reasons, rising to the top. In the Middle School situation, it now appears that there was not as much support for the new school as many thought there was. However, in the end, it was the substance and rationale behind the study circles' recommendations that carried the day.

[Jill Simonetti]

I would echo Nancy, Molly, and Julie in wondering not only how to convince folks that participation is worth their time, but also how to target "non-traditional players" rather than the same handful of people who are active in everything.

[Julie Fanselow]

Jim, many people will be attending – or avoiding – candidate forums this month to hear politicians answer questions on local issues. Portsmouth has come up with an interactive twist on these sometimes-tedious forums.What have you done to make the forums more interesting and interactive?

[Jim Noucas]

Julie: In the early days, we were doing school subjects. No one cares more about anything than their kids. So, in that setting, it is easier to get interest and involvement. Beyond that, the process has established its own credibility. Almost 100% of the people that participated in the Middle School Dialogue said they would do another dialogue, regardless of how the Middle School came out.

[Julie Fanselow]

Hi Jill,

I've traveled around the country to do stories on study circles. The two things that seem to be most important to bring in reluctant players are food and child care. If you can provide some good eats for folks, and a supervised place for their kids to play; and - most important - the promise that their voices really matter and the talk will lead to action, that seems to make a difference.

Nancy, I've seen this in larger cities as well as smaller towns.