Endorsements

"Kitchen Democracy is helping my Oakland district through a tough decision. We have a blighted property in a key location that everyone wants to improve - but how? Should we welcome a respectable hamburger franchise to open this year? Or should we say no and hope for a more upscale development that may not happen for many years?

I believe it enhances the decision-making process for everyone to be aware of the legitimate arguments on both sides of the issue. That is why I put this issue on Kitchen Democracy. Residents write thoughtful arguments in the on-line forum from their own home and on their own schedule. Kitchen Democracy ensures that the forum remains non-threatening by screening comments for personal attacks or obscenities.

It's still not an easy choice. The noes slightly outnumbered the yeas, and we continue to work through this process. But now that more than a thousand residents have read the arguments written by their neighbors on Kitchen Democracy, I believe that they will be more satisfied with the final decision, however it turns out. They know that hundreds of people are making solid arguments on both sides - and this would not be clear without Kitchen Democracy.

I also believe that the final decision will be a better one. The Kitchen Democracy forum has had an effect on the franchisee, and it has influenced my thinking as well. Whatever the outcome of this issue, I plan to add Kitchen Democracy to the set of available channels for public discourse in my Oakland district for important future issues."

"Since my job is to represent my constituents, I need to know what they think on issues that come before the City Council. Although people send me letters, emails and often stop me on the street to give me their opinions, I typically hear from only a handful of my twelve thousand constituents on any particular issue. Such a small sample may not be representative of the entire district.

Kitchen Democracy is a great tool to help me better understand my constituents' opinions on specific issues and to help them arrive at an informed opinion. For the recent Chevron Station change of use issue, I checked the website twice a day to read the comments and the vote tallies.

Numerous thoughtful comments were posted which gave me a better understanding of the core issues and the neighbors' concerns. In particular, certain common themes emerged that have strongly influenced my thinking on this issue."

"The single most important attribute of effective local governance is the active participation of as broad and diverse a constituency as possible, regardless of political persuasion. Limiting participation to the few that regularly attend council meetings in person serves neither the few that attend, nor the many that do not, nor the elected officials who rely on community input.

Kitchen Democracy helps solve an age old problem of engaging community participation. It provides an effective forum for debate and allows me and other elected representatives to hear from an insightful constituency."

"I was elected to office to represent the residents in District 6. That is my job. Kitchen Democracy provides me with an exciting new tool for hearing from my constituents about how they feel about matters that may come before me on the City Council for a vote. Now in addition to telephone, email and personal contact, I can turn to Kitchen Democracy to hear the opinions and views of concerned citizens so that I can better understand their point of view, and consider it, when making a decision. The more involvement and communication we have, the better!"