I love the simile Jerry Large uses in this column ..."is the world driving itself while we pretend to steer, like kids in a carnival ride?"

Classic!
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Monday, February 19, 2007

Feeling powerless? You aren't
By Jerry Large, Seattle Times staff columnist

A person could be forgiven for thinking life around here has gotten out of hand.

Neighborhoods change overnight, and big civic issues seem beyond the touch of average people. Big decisions about the viaduct, the Sonics, Iraq and development happen on a level most folks can't reach. The paper seems full of anti-civics lessons.

Is the world driving itself while we pretend to steer, like kids on a carnival ride?
( Read more... )

Renton Myspace users seem very concerned about the Sonics Arena discussions to date.

For example, Dave Says "I feel that everyone that wants this to happen sees $$$. I think we should really do what's right for the citizens not for the cities revenue. And we are a growing comunity but we are going to bust at the seams trying to cram everything down here at North Renton. And how is this going to impact the wildlife in our area, fish, and birds. And where are all of these people supposed to park? In front of my house :( "

And Stephanie says "The millionaire owners and players need to pay for the new arena. At least 85% and get 15% from taxpayers. It's rediculous that just because they feel they need a new playground we have to pay for it."

In the fourteen comments recieved this afternoon, only two were supportive. Chris says "Renton should pony up the dough to make sure that we can not only keep the sonics in Washington, but bring them into our city. With the Seahawks training facility, The Landing and the Sonics, Renton will grow tremendously in the future. It will be worth the millions in the years to come!"

Click here, and scroll to the bottom, to see how Renton Myspacers are feeling about the Sonics Arena

I really appreciated the strong positive response to my making my council email available for informal public review, anytime. I was intrigued with how the story traveled across the US, and how so many people recognized the numerous advantages in taking this step.

The local story was picked up by the Associated Press, several radio and television stations, and even made USA Today.

The move was also discussed in many online blogs, like this one (click here).

I also recieved calls from councilmembers in nearby jurisdictions, who said they were considering doing the same thing.

Interestingly, almost everyone I spoke with agreed that publiishing the email would also increase courtesy and civility, something which we can never have too much of as far as I'm concerned.

I am anxious to move to the next step of publishing all council emails in an online data base, for easy search on the web. As an alternative, or in addition, a blog system could be developed for council communication to keep the system public and interactive. To do this we will need to make some policy changes within city hall, and I will be pressing for this over the coming months.

"Inside e-mail, there's name-calling that occurs, there's crazy assumptions that people make, there's unsubstantiated reframing of issues," Corman said. "And I'm not just talking about constituents — often it's other public officials that are doing it."


Councilman wants his e-mail to be open book
By Cara Solomon

Seattle Times staff reporter

It's a small thing, but in the suspicious minds of citizens, every effort counts.

That's why Renton City Councilman Randy Corman has asked that his e-mail go into a file that anyone can rifle through and read, right there at City Hall.

"I want it to all be as public as possible," said Corman, who has his own personal Web site, where he explains his votes on certain issues. "We're going to look like a more open and happening city."

Since Corman announced his intention over e-mail, several other City Council members have decided to follow suit.

Maybe, just maybe, they said, this will cut down on the rocketing number of public-disclosure requests. At the very least, it could take the mystique out of their decision-making, showing how boring their e-mail can be.

"I think people have an idea that we are trading a lot of secret information through e-mail," said Councilman Dan Clawson. "Really, a lot of it is very mundane."

The public is already entitled to see any e-mail to or from City Council members, provided that the messages do not discuss confidential matters such as legal action or personnel issues. But it usually takes a public-records request to access the e-mail, plus time and energy on the part of the city staff to find the relevant documents. Spam and other meaningless e-mail will not be included in the public file.

In deciding to make his e-mail more public, Corman took some inspiration from the state Attorney General's Office, which has pushed in recent years for local politicians to make public records more accessible.

Some cities, like Bellevue, are trying hard to put as many public documents as possible online. In other cities, like Olympia, council members' e-mails are kept on CDs, available to the public by request.

Greg Overstreet, special assistant attorney general for government accountability, said he had not yet heard of council members making their e-mails available in public files.

"I think it's a great idea," said Overstreet. "It takes the middleman out of the process of getting public records."

The city of Renton received nearly 190 written requests for public records in 2006 — the most ever, and more than twice that of the previous year, according to the city clerk. Many requests involved e-mails.

At some point, one citizen filed a public-records request to find out how many public-records requests another citizen had made. The city answered that inquiry last week. Inez Petersen, a 61-year-old retired computer programmer, has written about 45 percent of the requests filed over the past year.

She was not pleased to hear about Corman's effort to make e-mail more accessible. The move would make it more difficult for her to find pertinent information, she said. Faced with folders full of e-mails, she would not know where to begin.

"It's like saying, 'Here's the haystack, go find the needle,' " she said.

Petersen's requests range from a list of city contractors to all correspondence over the past six years that mentioned her by name. She was acting on a tip on that last request; she had heard that one council member wrote "I hate Inez" repeatedly over e-mail.

"I never did find the 'I hate Inez' e-mail," she said.

She did, however, find herself described as a "cranky individual" in one message. Which leads to Corman's second hope: that by putting their e-mails on display, people will become more civil in conversation.

"Inside e-mail, there's name-calling that occurs, there's crazy assumptions that people make, there's unsubstantiated reframing of issues," Corman said. "And I'm not just talking about constituents — often it's other public officials that are doing it."

For her part, Mayor Kathy Keolker said she could not understand why the extra e-mail folder was necessary. Citizens already can fill out a form and get nearly any public document they want. This seemed to her to add another layer of work for city staffers. And why would anyone want immediate access to Corman's correspondence, anyway?

"His e-mail must be more interesting than mine," she said.


Cara Solomon: 206-464-2024 or csolomon@seattletimes.com

From: Corman, Randy
Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2006 12:51 PM
To: 'Julia Medzegian'; Jay Covington
Subject: Making council email more accessible to the public

Julia, Jay - Please forward appropriately for me. Thanks, Randy
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Dear Council, Mayor, City Clerk, and City Attorney

I'm writing to let you know that effective immediately, I've asked
Council Liaison Julia Medzegian to process my council email in a new
and more public way. She has agreed to place hard copies of all of my
incoming and outgoing email correspondence into a notebook at her
desk, that will be available for the public to access and review.

I am confident that this change is within my authority, and will have
many positive benefits to the public. It will allow the public to
better understand the nature and volume of council email, which I
predict will reduce the number of Freedom of Information requests (and
expense associated with them.) It will also further trust in Renton's
government, which we can never have too much of.

Perhaps this change may even be a stepping stone to an eventual
end-state where all public-official email is available and searchable
online. Since email is a public record, an on-line data base would be
welcome by many, and would help keep the public informed of government
activities on a daily basis.

Since we do not receive privileged legal information or executive
session material via email, I have not given Julia any limitations on
what she places in the file. Every email I have ever seen at city
hall seems to me to be a valid public record. And of course, the
public is so-advised on our website when they write to us.

Best Wishes to all of you for a happy holiday.

Randy

Democracy is the bludgeoning of the people, by the people, for the people. Oscar Wilde

Some land-use appeals generated a heated debate between private citizens at Monday's council meeting.

Those of you who have been reading my journal know that in late summer of 2006 I was concerned we were moving too hastily on the highlands land-use planning, with the risk of leaving some people and their concerns out of the process.

Thankfully, council finally convened a citizen task force in October, which worked long hours to deliver highlands recommendations to council on the very day they were needed for incorporation into the 2006 Comp plan amendments. This task force performed well, reaching unanimous task force agreement on rezoning, text amendments, and comprehensive plan changes for the highlands.

After so swiftly completing so much work affecting so many already-developed acres, it's not a huge surprise that we are now receiving a few appeals.

As these appeals make their way through the process, the important thing to remember is the appeals do not diminish the work that has been done. Appeals may do nothing, or they may lead to fine-tuning of the final product or supporting analysis, but they do not replace the hard work of the highland task force.

Furthermore, it's important not to get upset with the parties making the appeals. Appealing a decision is a right under our law, and it is not productive to combat citizens for exercising their rights.

Instead, we should celebrate the fact that we live in a democracy that guarantees due process to all citizens, whether or not they hold the majority opinion. There is an established legal process for working through land-use appeals, and we need to simply give this process time to work. Democracy is the best system around, but no one has said that it is the fastest.

And please let Oscar Wilde's funny quip remain only a quip...greet your fellow citizens with kindness, and let's say 'no' to bludgeoning ourselves while the process works things out.

Here is an interesting story in today's newpaper.....

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Highlands residents fight against city's plans: Some fear Renton will use eminent domain to make them leave


By Jamie Swift
Journal Reporter


RENTON — City Councilman Randy Corman can empathize with residents of the Highlands who are fearful the city will condemn their homes to develop a high-density urban village intended to reinvigorate the area.

Corman, the council president, stood side-by-side on a busy street corner Friday afternoon with a group of Highlands residents waving "no eminent domain" signs.

"The mayor tried to take my house," Corman said.

Mayor Kathy Keolker was a city councilwoman in 1989. That year, the council tried to condemn Corman's Highlands home — the same home he lives in now — to clear the way for a new development.

After a court battle, Corman won and was able to keep his home. But he says he'll never forget the frustration and the intimidation of challenging government.

Corman was so disturbed by the situation that in 1991 he decided to run for the City Council. He targeted Keolker, because "of the pivotal role she took in condemning my property," he said.

Keolker held on to her seat, but Corman would grab a spot on the council in 1994.

On occasion, Corman said, he'll say to his wife that he should work harder to cooperate with Keolker.

But his wife always responds: "But she tried to take our house," Corman says, with a chuckle.

"That's the back story," Corman said. "That's what set up this whole grudge match."

The mayor was out of the office Friday and could not be reached for comment but the city's vision for the Highlands is to transform a neighborhood, which is dotted with blighted homes, into an urban village. To that end, the city is trying to increase the housing density.

However, an appeal lodged by the Highlands Community Association puts the city's vision on hold, at least until the fall, said Alex Pietsch, the city's administrator of economic development, neighborhoods and strategic planning.

Pietsch said Friday the city has always talked about eminent domain as "a last choice after all other strategies have been exhausted."

He said the belief that the city is likely to condemn properties is "being perpetuated by people who have their own agendas."

The residents believe they are in the path of the city's vision for a renewed urban village in the Highlands, near Sunset Boulevard Northeast, just east of Interstate 405. And they are concerned the city will use eminent domain powers to make them leave.

Corman estimates the city is unlikely to use eminent domain to build its urban village, considering the current makeup of the City Council.

At least four of the seven council members are against using eminent domain, Corman said Friday — which marked the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Kelo V. New London decision, which broadened governments' eminent domain rights.

In response to that year-old decision, President Bush on Friday signed an executive order declaring the federal government can only seize private property for a public use such as a hospital or road.

Last month, Corman pitched a resolution to the City Council which would have eliminated the possibility of using eminent domain powers in the Highlands neighborhood.

"I was essentially filibustered," said Corman, adding that council members unwilling to commit to such a step used government process to avoid a vote on the resolution.

Until the city eliminates eminent domain as an option, the Highlands residents will live in a constant state of anxiety, Corman said.

"It's like taking months away from their lives," Corman said.

"As soon as you realize how many rights have to get trampled to do this, you should realize you need to do the hard work of finding another idea," Corman said.



Jamie Swift can be reached at jamie.swift@kingcountyjournal.com or 253-872-6646.