I am looking forward to checking out the Council-to-Go meeting at the Union Project this Thursday, August 1st. It is an event where Pittsburgh City Council members get a chance to personally answer questions from any and all Pittsburgh residents. We pay for the Government with our taxes; it would be foolish to buy something and not be bothered to understand what it does or how it works.

I’m not sure what to ask, though. There will be others waiting, wanting their questions to be addressed. If I only come up with one question, what if someone in line in front of me asks it first, and I end up panicking and asking if Darlene Harris is excited about the upcoming episodes of Breaking Bad? If I have several questions, what if I ask the wrong one? What if my question is too broad of a topic for discussion…for example, I really want to know about The Wet Weather Plan; the Federal, State, and County governments signed a Court ordered imperative, called a ‘Consent Decree’, to stop the near 40 inches of rainwater per year from overflowing into, and back out of, septic systems. The overflow fills our sewers and waterways with human waste and all manner of other nasty stuff, flowing directly into the rivers. I have been reading all about it, and I still have no clue how ask the right questions to help me understand the real difference between terms like “gray” and “green” infrastructure, or which solution is best.

Like I said, it’s just too broad a topic to articulate a question or an answer in just a few sentences. I am facing a dilemma that many voters face; I am no expert on Civic Planning, Civil Engineering, or ‘Green vs. Gray’ Infrastructure’, so I’m not sure if I should ask anything at all. It may seem practical to remain silent and heed the opinion of credentialed experts, but that hardly sounds like me. The issue is identifying between the expert problem-solvers and the expert lobbyists. I want to be involved in my community, involved in “The Process”, but even when you look a person in the eye, you must remember that politicians are professionally charismatic and charming individuals–they have to be to get elected. you can’t tell if they speak for the best interest of the People or for the interests of their financiers and friends. Sincerity is an easy disguise in Politics.

Even if I do not come up with a good question, and I end up sitting silently and just listening, it is important that I go–that I continue to go–to events such as this, so that our leaders know some of us really are watching, even if we don’t really know for what. I have been a student of politics my whole life, and the one thing I have come to realize is the truth in these words of Author, Walter Lippmann: “when everybody thinks alike, no one thinks very much.”

Our National political landscape is a partisan nightmare of Obstructionism and gridlock. However, when the opposite happens, when a government becomes too uniform and voters trust Party leadership without too many questions…

Every member of Pittsburgh City Council is a Democrat. Hell, I am a Democrat. We are a liberal city, and I understand the inclination to connect the Democratic party with Liberal, Progressive policies . However, not since Caliguiri ran in 1978, has someone successfully taken the Mayor’s office without the Democratic Party endorsement, as well as most of the elected offices in this town. Without oversight and interest by the voters, without viable political competition in the elections, a small group of positioned Party leaders suddenly find themselves free to run government how ever they choose. Not just free to, but obligated to; it is their job to make decisions.

Pittsburgh is on the cusp of a major revitalization, with many serious issues standing in the way. Simply showing up to the polls and pulling for the Democratic ticket isn’t enough for me anymore; it is too easy to be a “Democrat in Name Only”, rather than standing on one’s policy plans, past experiences, and vision for the future.

Community meetings may seem boring to some, but they are important for many reasons; specifically to let the public servants of our town know that the people care about details and decisions made with our city and our tax dollars. “Showing up is half the battle”, folks like to say. I really hope to see yinz there.