Here’s a weird, off-topic, and maybe stupid question… not sure who to ask, or what other thread to post this in.
I’m emailing city staff member Paul Black about getting a sidewalk upgraded to a multi-use path along a higher-volume street in District D (found the recommendation to email Paul here). I’m still a bit newer to this sort of civic involvement, so my question is whether y’all think it would be appropriate to CC a council member on that sort of request. I know Councilmember Melton takes a lot of interest in this sort of thing, so I’d like to make him aware of my request, but I also don’t want to be a nuisance by getting council involved in something that really should just be left to staff. If I were to copy him on the email, I’d also include Councilmember Forte, as she is assigned to District D.
Sorry if this is a dumb ask, but I figured someone here would know the right answer. Thanks all!
I don’t think that’s a dumb question at all! The Government™ isn’t a monolith despite what everyone thinks; if you don’t want to get lost in the noise, you gotta play your cards right so that the right people pay attention to you.
With that said, I’m not sure. I’m not sure if it’s better to CC Forte vs Melton, but my gut says it’s a good idea to copy them just for the sake of awareness.
I always copy the district member and the two at-large members (and sometimes the mayor as well) - city council members have people who handle their emails for them so it’s not a nuisance for them per se. They will determine the importance and either respond for the council member or forward it on to them (Megan Hinkle is the person in District E haha)
I emailed my Councilor about the cluster of madness known as Glenwood-St Mary’s-Anderson transit stops. The proposed Stormwater project will add a small segment of sidewalk, but still it’s a sprint through traffic to catch the #6 outbound. Missing crosswalks to access the stop. No answer from the Councilor & I vote. Any input other than a tunnel or bridge is appreciated, I’ll pass it on to the city.
Oh yeah no, I absolutely agree. My point was that you need to be careful how you say it, just like with anything else.
In case anyone disagrees with that, click here.
You can have your voice heard and your words recognized, and we’re entitled to that in a democracy with public servants. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that bureaucrats and leaders will get what you mean. And when governments are run by people rather than an omniscient AI, it’s not realistic to expect that.
Remember that city staff are busy, have to handle multiple things at once (especially when they’re overworked, understaffed, and underpaid versus private-sector jobs with similar tasks). Likewise, City Council members (like most elected offices) are designed as part-time jobs, so there’s only so many emails they can read and thoughtfully respond to. It’s not ideal, but we’re all only human.
Until there’s a better way to do things, I thin your best bet is to just make your words accurate and concise -and using every trick in the book to make your words count, as Colby’s trying to do. Eloquence and impact shouldn’t be a part of a world where every person “matters” equally, but we don’t live in an ideal world.
Agreed - I think we live in a society where people think that they can say anything they want and people are bound to hear and respond to it. Speaking tactfully to get a thoughtful/engaging response is a unique skill that isn’t really common now a days that takes a little more thought/work.
There appears to be a big push this weekend by livable Raleigh to get the signatures for the recall. I have see it on Nextdoor and my neighbor just texted that there will be people in the area between 3-6 today to get signatures.
I just politely told her thanks for letting us know and left it at that.
Agreed. What cracks me up is the people who are anti growth, which is completely fine to like a small town, but think they can stop the growth if they elect a city council that doesn’t approve tall buildings downtown. The people are coming, and no one can stop that. Without tall buildings and density and all of these “ugly apartments no one can afford,” our city will be an endless mess of sprawl and traffic. I wish I could get through to these people.
I’m sure Livable Raleigh won’t mind getting a few more signatures from people who are angry about the mayor reinstating the mask mandate… (even though they are probably for that as well)
I think you all know how @John and I feel about our current council and Mayor (as does @OakCityKarla) and someone was out collecting signatures the other weekend while the 3 of us were walking around. We were polite.
