Democracy assumes that people participate in government, but in real life that may just mean a trip to the polls once every few years. When mom and dad are busy paying off the mortgage, how likely is it that they will take time away from the kids to go to the City Council meeting on Tuesday night?
That reality has led a local couple, Robert Vogel, 50, and Simona Carini, 43, to set up a Web site designed to allow Berkeley citizens to express opinions and vote on issues under consideration by the City Council and by other city boards and commissions. While several City Council members welcome the Web site as another way to hear from constituents, some point to potential pitfalls. The idea of the site, according to Vogel, is to make it convenient for citizens to participate.
"Going to City Hall is too hard. The meetings take place late at night, and many of them are cantankerous and unpleasant," Vogel said. "City Council members don’t hear from a representative sample of citizens. There’s a two-way barrier -- I’m trying to break it down."
The Web site, www.KitchenDemocracy.org, went up in March, and its founders chose an issue down the street from where they lived in Elmwood that was before the Zoning Adjustments Board to test it out. The question was: "Should the Chevron Station at Ashby and Domingo convert from auto repair to mini-mart?"
"We put that up and passed fliers around the neighborhood, and were amazed to get more than 100 people participating on the issue. Of those, more than 60 wrote an articulate and intelligent comment on the subject," Vogel said.
The Web site offers summaries of issues, including a list of pros and cons, and advice from chosen experts. Current issues on the site include whether Berkeley should refer the question of public financing for election campaigns to the ballot, and whether the city should implement a GPS vehicle location system to fight auto theft.
Both of these issues are scheduled for consideration by the council this month. Also up for comment is whether the Berkeley Transportation and Planning Commissions should hold public hearings on the bus rapid transit project slated for Telegraph Avenue. To date, nearly 500 people have used the Web site to comment or vote on a local issue.
Vogel hopes that within five years, tens of thousands of Berkeley voters will be logging on to get informed and to offer input, creating community discussion and feedback to the council.
"It all adds to the voice of the people, and we need that," said council member Linda Maio.
Council member Gordon Wozniak, a neighbor of Vogel and Carini, said he believes the site can promote early discussion of an issue, and influence the development of a project as potential problems are aired. He said it could especially help with land-use issues requiring a variance, because one of the criteria for getting a variance is being able to establish substantial public support -- something that, if present, would become evident from the online comments and votes.
"We have approximately 70,000 voters in this city. You don’t hear from a substantial number of them. I see this as a way of facilitating input. It’s not perfect, but it’s a way for a larger number of people to express opinions," Wozniak said.
Council member Kriss Worthington said he saw immense potential in the site but said it needs fine-tuning to better reflect Berkeley’s racial, demographic and economic diversity. He said getting opinions from people at various economic levels could be challenging through the site, since economically disadvantaged people may not have the same easy access that makes it an attractive avenue for participation.
"I think it’s dangerous if you’re taking a survey and you want to know what the people of Berkeley think," Worthington said. "You have to make sure your survey matches the demographics of the city. Depending on the issue, different kinds of people might have different opinions."
Vogel and Carini have thought of that problem; they currently offer a postal address for votes and comments from those who prefer the postal system.
Worthington also questioned citing City Council members online as "experts" on land-use issues they may later vote on in a council meeting. He called this "treading on dangerous ground," because council members are supposed to keep an open mind throughout the application process, while eliciting public comment. He questioned whether offering opinions as an expert on the Web site could be grounds for barring a council member from voting on the issue later.
But, Vogel says, what better way to keep an open mind than to participate in a community-wide discussion? "My whole focus is to bring everything out into the open, to make everything as open and transparent as possible," Vogel said.
Council member Max Anderson said it is up to council members to put the input they get into context.
"We hear from a lot of people in a lot of different forms, and this is one more avenue for people to express their will," Anderson said.
Vogel and Carini have been working on the site full time since March, researching and summarizing issues, checking the facts, and recruiting expert opinions. They read all incoming comments to make sure there is no obscene language or personal attacks. They do all the technical work themselves, making necessary changes to the site and acting as a help desk for newcomers.
Since the site is still in its infancy, at less than 3 months old, the work involves a lot of strategic planning as well, Vogel said. A typical day for the couple is easily 12 to 14 hours long.
Carini has accepted a paying job in medical informatics, which involves gleaning useful information out of data such as clinical trials, but expects to continue to work on the site after hours. She grew up in Italy but loves living in Berkeley, and wants to contribute.
"What I love about this project is that it gives people a way of expressing themselves so that their talent and their ideas can be channeled in a way that contributes to the whole community," Carini said.
Vogel cut short a Ph.D. program in physics at UC Berkeley, settling for a master’s instead, to devote himself to the project.
"Heck, I want to make a difference. I want to do something good for the world. I see an opportunity. That’s really the bottom line," he said.
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Reach Dorothy Vriend at dvriend@sbcglobal.net. |
