Peoria Times
November 18, 2010
Posted: Thursday, November 18, 2010 11:15 pm | Updated: 8:11 am, Thu Nov 18, 2010. By CAROLYN DRYER, Editor | 0 comments One of the guest speakers at the PACE Conference on civic engagement and public participation held Nov. 4 in Peoria said, ”I am surprised at what I’m gong to talk about today.” Lattie Coor, CEO of Center for the Future of Arizona, found citizen engagement and citizen connectivity were goals of ”What We Want in Arizona.” In the CFA report, ”The Arizona We Want,” Coor said, ”There’s simply been no blueprint for our future … After looking at all the options, (we asked) why don’t we create what citizens want?” So it was that the Gallup organization was brought on board to bring work they had been doing in countries all over the world, Coor said. In their poll, they had 3,600 respondents to a telephone poll, and 831 respondents to the website poll. The results? Arizonans cite the state’s aesthetics and natural environment as its greatest assets. Arizonans want jobs. The good news? Arizonans are more deeply passionate about where they live than people anywhere else; they’re deeply attached. ”But,” Coor said, ”they’re not very engaged.” Also, Arizonans agree more than they disagree. A disturbing finding was that citizens do not believe elected officials are doing a good job; only 10 percent approve of the leadership in Arizona. Another disappointing discovery in the polls revealed most respondents felt Ariozna is not a good place for young college graduates. Only 12 percent of respondents said Arizonans are concerned about each other. In ”The Arizona We Want” report, eight major goals and five issues surfaced, Coor said. It lists very specific recommendations from citizens. ”It’s the goals that are the heart of the work we’re seeking to do,” Coor said. In a national report on citizenship that came out of the National Conference on Citizenship, Coor said the finding indicated ”the most powerful force in American democracy is the connection among citizens.” The same report found that Arizona citizens are not very well informed; 15 percent below the national average. Also, Arizonans are not as strongly connected to each other with a ranking of 45. Education also has a significant effect on voting numbers, Coor said. The challenge, he said, is to learn what can be done about the numbers, and what citizens will do to improve them. Arizona ranks 40th in the country in voter registration, 43rd in voter turnout, and 39th in voter turnout for ages 18 to 29. Tackling the job is more difficult today than it might have been 20 years ago. In 1990, Arizona as a state was smaller than Phoenix is today, Coor said. There 3.7 million people with two million of that total residing in Phoenix. Today, there are four million people in Phoenix. Coor brought out another interesting fact: There are more HOAs in Arizona than any other state. That came about during the last two decades of housing boom. He said, ”Arizona has never had to work for its prosperity. We’ve never really had to go out and ask ourselves, ‘Who are we?’” Peoria Vice Mayor Ron Aames asked, ”How do we in this room change those numbers?” ”Start with neighbors, start with those you know,” Coor said. ”Knowing one another and making a community that has ties is of tremendous intrinsic value.” International Association for Public Participation, known at IAP2, developed the ”Core Values for Public Participation” to help in developing and implementing public participation processes. In its report on civic engagement and authentic public participation, AIP2 stated: ”The purpose of these core values is to help make better decisions that reflect the interests and concerns of potentially affected individuals and entities.” Core values: – Public participation is based on the belief that those who are affected by a decision have a right and are welcomed to be involved in the decision–making process. – Public participation includes the promise that the public’s contribution will influence the decision. – Public participation promotes sustainable decisions by recognizing and communicating the needs and interests of all participants, including decision makers. – Public participation seeks out and facilitates the involvement of those potentially affected by or interested in an issue needing to be addressed. – Public participation seeks input from participants in designing how they participate. – Public participation provides participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way. – Public participation communicates to participants how their input affected the decision.