By Albert B. Kelly
As many in our community may know by now, I've held a number of community meetings over the last couple of years to address the issue of crime and violence. Recently though, I've heard from several critical souls expressing their belief that these meetings are “just for show”; purely political theater- a sort of horse and pony show designed strictly for the photo-op. So it stands to reason that if a few “critics” feel this way, other people of good will might wonder about the purpose and value of these community meetings as well.
Let me start by saying that as an elected official and a politician, there certainly are things that get done strictly for ceremony and appearance. Whether it’s a certain type of proclamation, a ribbon cutting, certain press events, “photo ops,” and things of this sort; there’s a public side to governance and at the end of the day, ceremony is still part of conducting the people’s business, even if they don’t always notice or care. That happens at every level of government.
Ceremony and certain things done “just for show” are not necessarily all bad. Though I know that there are some who see any ceremony of government as a waste of time; just as there are some politicians who choose to blow off all ceremony and process, presenting their contempt as proof that they are men or woman of the people-as if dressing down is the lone virtue of leadership.
That said; residents should understand at the outset that the community meetings we've held over the last 2 years to address the ongoing issue of crime and violence were not about ceremony and certainly not “just for show”. Early on, these meetings were an outgrowth of a door-to-door distribution of thousands of anti-violence flyers and social service booklets. In the course of engaging with residents directly, many individuals invited me into their respective homes’- sharing information which was ultimately passed on to authorities for appropriate follow-up action. So I will continue to go anywhere at any time to talk with residents about what’s impacting their lives.
As for more formal meetings, they bring residents and officials into one place providing residents with a visible and consistent way to voice their thoughts, frustrations, fears, ideas, and suggestions while at the same time, providing officials with an opportunity to understand things from a resident’s point of view. These meetings also serve as a way for officials to help keep residents informed as to what’s going on.
On another level, I believe such forums are part of being publically accountable. I understand how someone might be cynical about them, but a lot of that is tied to expectations. While these meetings serve several important purposes as stated previously; they don’t provide instant or clear-cut solutions and rarely do we get a magic bullet to solve the problem once and for all…though I wish it could be so.
Instead, these meetings are part of a larger effort to deal with crime and violence. The meetings supplement the action teams that have logged over 500 code inspections, nearly as many re-inspections, and 265 inspections specifically tied to noncompliance. They help to inform a larger initiative being undertaken in conjunction with the County Prosecutor’s Office and the Walter Rand Institute to deal specifically with juvenile crime prevention. And finally, these meetings help to guide the deployment of enforcement personnel, sharpen focus on circumstances unique to specific neighborhoods and apartment complex settings, and generally keep issues front and center for everyone involved.
What these meetings won’t do, is serve as a stand-alone solution to the ongoing issue of crime and violence and anyone who has that expectation will certainly come away disappointed and perhaps even a little cynical, so we keep a balanced perspective. Yet, I am determined to hold these forums whether one person shows up or one-hundred come out and I’m always willing to engage, even when that means the full blast of people’s anger and frustration. It is part of my responsibility, it comes with the territory and I won’t hide from it.
I imagine that it would be easy to blow off these forums and avoid engaging residents directly with the excuse that nothing gets solved at a meeting. But that would mean attempting solutions that did not have any input from residents directly impacted by the issue and it would likely result in proposals that created a whole new set of unintended consequences. Of course, doing away with these meetings would likely mean that these same naysayers would then complain that there are no meetings…so go figure.
All things being equal though, I’ll take the criticism that comes from engaging with residents at community meetings-the very meetings that some insist are “just for show”- rather than hiding behind an excuse that lets me avoid people’s anger or frustration. People have a right to express such things face-to-face. I know the difference between ceremony - “just for show”- and a serious forum to engage with residents on something that requires patience, determination, fresh thinking, and multiple resources. With that in mind, I hope to see you at the next meeting…time and place to be announced.