Our cities and counties are experiencing a crisis of local democracy. Few residents know who represents them, and public trust in government is at historic lows. At the moment of transition, leaders have an opportunity to reveal the foundation of the solution: community-driven policymaking that creates the change residents want to see.
By embracing a Talking Transition, leaders can transform politics as usual into an opportunity to design solutions grounded in community needs, and build the relationships needed to implement plans with trusted local partners.
“Politics as usual” can, and will, alienate communities that harbor fears that they will be pushed further to the margins. The opposite is also true: the signaling of a new kind of politics can begin to heal those fractures.