Equity in Access to Democracy

The realm of government beyond the voting booth is still a mystery to many, but it shouldn’t be. Democracy works best when we are all actively involved, bringing our best ideas to the table.

We need to:

• have more community engagement opportunities to discuss issues of importance to neighborhoods and our city, in communities and locations where people live and work, not just in City Hall

• support initiatives like Participatory Budgeting that allow residents to incorporate their values into the budgeting process

• include more renters and young people in our government decision-making process

• end voter suppression of felons, immigrants, and poor people who cannot afford government-issued identification, as well as unfair distribution of voting locations

• adopt an Open Data policy

• work with our partners across jurisdictional boundaries to create more transparency in governmental systems.