By Martin Rubin Director of Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution
Regarding “Asking price can be steep” (SMDP, Sept. 26, page 1), one often hears politicians urging more public participation in the governmental process. After all, we are supposed to be a government of the people. Political offices, whether paid or not, are public service positions, and an important part of being a public servant is listening to, understanding and responding to the concerns, wishes and questions from constituents. It is an important part of the job. Imagine a bus driver complaining about having to stop at too many stops to pick up passengers.
In 2004, shortly after our group “Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution” was formed to have Santa Monica Airport air pollution addressed, we put on a candidates forum in Santa Monica that focused on airport issues. Forums are an excellent venue to educate the public and political candidates by focusing on one or more issues. It gives candidates an opportunity to meet the public, answer questions and make statements that they would not otherwise have. Questionnaires are another valuable tool for understanding a candidate’s position on issues that constituents are concerned about. I would hope that the candidates would be grateful for the community’s interest and involvement in the political process. As Bob Stern, President of the Center for Governmental Studies points out in Kevin Herrera’s article, “… It really is more of an educational opportunity for a candidate than it is for the groups.”
The suggestion that Terry O’Day made to have the City Clerk post questionnaires online is very good. I would add also posting forum schedules as well so that groups can avoid scheduling conflicts. Concerned Residents is holding another Santa Monica City Council candidates forum on airport issues Oct. 5 at the Ken Edwards Center, and this time around we are pleased to have Friends of Sunset Park as a supporter and participant.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 4, 2006. Read the original PDF.