A group of random strangers often discovers they have much more in common than they thought.
Last week, from May 14-16, a unique group of people gathered at the Rotunda Room at the Vets Building. All of them were Culver City residents, and all of them had responded to a post card soliciting their interest in being a part of a Civic Assembly.
Okay, a what?
When gathered, just about everyone confessed that they had no real idea what they had agreed to, other than the time and the place. And the budget; we were all very clear that we were there to talk about the budget.
The organizers – the Center for New Democratic Processes – used the ‘Athenian democracy’ model of sortition. A very large number of invitations are offered, and then a random lottery process selects participants from the group that responds. This ensures that the final group has a broad demographic range, and allows for “everyday people” to offer insights for the municipal government to use to shape policy.
The task set before the Culver City Civic Assembly was to get ideas about how to increase the amount of public participation in the budget process. As someone who has followed policy making very closely, the fact that we were in the room felt to me that this was already a huge leap forward.
The conversations were candid, thoughtful, and most of all, civil. People who have never been to a council or committee meeting offered their reflections as residents, and how the daily life of the city worked for them. Some people who have been deeply involved in local politics from a number of perspectives also listened, and and spoke, and listened more.
The civic assembly is a process that does go back to ancient Athens, but has been used all over the world, with increasing frequency over the last several decades.
The same questions came back to us over and over again; What challenges did we see in people getting involved in the budget process? What possible solutions could we offer towards getting more people involved in the budget process? The same questions for three days.
Lots of answers.
We heard many opening and informative remarks from the city – the Mayor spoke, the City Manager spoke, the Assistant City Managers spoke, and the Chiefs of Police and Fire, Vice Mayor and City Council representatives, and representatives from city departments. They were not a part of our discussion, but gave us some insight into how each of these entities connected with the budget.
We heard a lot from folks about how they use their budgets and what needs they are looking to meet.
Then, we discussed. We changed chairs and discussed again. We came in the next day to find our name cards moved to different places, and we sat down and discussed some more. And again the day after that.
People in the entertainment industry talked with people who worked for the County, people who had retired from teaching school talked with people who write software, people who work in real estate talked with people who work with the unhoused. Just about everyone got the chance to connect with someone they likely would never have had a conversation with – particularly a conversation about how their city prioritizes spending money.
At the end of the session, the organizers had what they wanted; a big pile of data to sort and organize. The assembly members had a very new sense of being participants, and not just residents, in their city.
It will happen again. The original plan for a six day gathering had been split into two three day sessions. The Center for New Democratic Process said they truly did not know yet if they would be calling the same cohort to return, or if they would start a new sortition. First, they had to get the data organized.
If you get the chance to participate – do it.
We closed out with a sense of hope, and even relief. The proof that people are capable of being civil isn’t obvious in our current era. The assembly seemed to give everyone a new way to think about what it means to be part of a city.
People said it made them feel connected and respected in ways they had not even anticipated. They had much more in common than it seemed.
Judith Martin-Straw
