Newsletter - October 2022

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. It is a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in a role or persona and simply have a good time. Given how close we are to the mid-term elections I find some irony given the roles and personas being portrayed by many of the candidates for office!

In contrast to the enjoyment I get out of Halloween, I continue to be disgusted by the barrage of political ads and commercials we get this time of year. They are frequently misleading, stoke anger and hatred, and provide little value for those truly trying to understand ideology, qualifications, or priorities of candidates and political parties.

Elected officials do extremely important work, and they're supposed to be working for us. Would you make a major purchase or hire someone to work on your home based on a commercial or other advertisement? In addition to the money being spent on campaigns, a significant amount of time is spent raising money for the campaigns. All of this time and money provides limited benefit to all of us.

Ad spending made up more than half of campaign expenditures in the 2020 election cycle (nearly $8.5 billion). Here's a link to an Open Secrets web page with additional details, including reported spending, to date, for the 2022 mid-term elections, and expenditures from previous election cycles.

The value of debates is diminishing because candidates either evade or don't truthfully answer questions, and many are avoiding debates altogether. Editorial board reviews and subsequent endorsements are an excellent resource, but many local newspapers no longer have the resources to continue this practice. Here's a link to a "letter from the editor" of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that provides more insight into the endorsement process. Of particular interest is that this process provides an effective and impartial way of finding out candidates' positions on key issues.

What if the information to evaluate candidates and political parties were available in a simple, easy to use format? Would this reduce the value of political advertisements and reduce the need for candidates to raise money? Is this a viable way to reduce money in politics and significantly reduce conflicts of interest?

Given the limited time most of us have to research and truly understand the policies and priorities of candidates and political parties, a simple "at a glance" format as illustrated in this spreadsheet should be considered. I would love your feedback on this concept.

As mentioned in last month's newsletter, I watched the US and the Holocaust over the Jewish High Holidays. I continue to be alarmed by the many parallels between the Nazi takeover of Germany and the current political climate. When outsiders and opposing views are demonized and when truth is challenged, it weakens our country and our democracy.

In landslide elections 40% of voters have opposing views. For our democracy and society to truly function as I believe most of us would like it to, we need to take the time to understand and respect views that differ from our own. As I continue on this journey, I become increasingly less concerned about political ideology and increasingly focused on upholding and promoting the eight principles that guide my work.

In next month's newsletter I will provide updates on work done by Voice of the People to promote partnership with the public and work by the Center for Electoral Quality and Integrity to promote free and fair elections.

If you haven't already done so, please be sure to vote!

Have a great month.

Allan

Newsletter - September 2022

The 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Jewish high holidays represent a time for reflection.

I am not very religious and rarely go to temple. However, I do try to uphold Jewish traditions and my worldview is strongly impacted by the fact that I'm the son of a Holocaust survivor.

The Jewish high holidays, which began yesterday at sundown, are a time for Jews to atone for their sins and reflect on what they can do in the upcoming year to be better people.

A common theme both from 9/11 and the Holocaust is "never forget".

As I watch Ken Burns' The U.S. and the Holocaust, I will be reflecting on lessons learned from both 9/11 and the Holocaust and how they apply to our democracy. This timeline of events from the U.S. Holocaust Museum website provides a quick and easy-to-read summary of the deterioration of Germany from parliamentary democracy to an autocracy that sanctioned the persecution, imprisonment, and torture of "dangerous" groups and "non-Aryan" Germans. This article summarizes the more than 400 decrees and regulations that dismantled the German democracy and advanced and codified the discriminatory Nazi agenda.

During the high holidays, I will also reflect on the importance of respect and empathy. Earlier this month, I had a very difficult situation with someone who I'm very close to. The situation ended in disappointment for both of us, but I believe we did accept and respect each other's decisions. The situation would've been even more difficult if we focused our energy on trying to "persuade" each other. My personal takeaway is to respect and try to understand different perspectives. This approach is particularly important in our current climate of polarization and very deeply held attitudes and convictions. Such an approach minimizes conflict and fosters collaboration and cooperation.

In the same spirit, as we approach the mid-term elections, I encourage everyone to protect and support our democracy by educating themselves on the issues and candidates that are on the ballot, rather than relying on misleading commercials and sound bites aired by both parties. Take a few minutes to truly research candidates' records and what they stand for, and learn how to spot and handle online misinformation.

A review of polling by the Brookings Institute shows that misinformation is one of the leading drivers of erosion of trust in our democracy. We all need to play our part in combating this trend. More on this topic in next month's newsletter.

Have a great month.

Allan

Newsletter - August 2022

One of the keys to my ability to survive in the Quality profession was my recognition that eyes glaze over and people start to tune out when "Quality" is brought up. However, when the subject is subtly changed to finding ways to solve difficult or intractable problems, it is much easier to get buy-in. Quality professionals are simply tasked with facilitating communication and collaboration leveraging a set of tools to help individuals and groups solve difficult problems.

Bringing this same mindset to the problems of the federal government, I've learned many things about how problems do (and don't) get solved. Over the past few months, it has become apparent to me that the endless debates and intensely partisan approaches to tackling our problems deepen our political divides and solve nothing.

The key is to spend less time focusing on political ideology and more time on collaboratively and creatively solving difficult problems. I am heartened by the many good government organizations I have encountered over the past year and a half that embody this approach.

I am also encouraged by the recent reduction in legislative gridlock in Congress. But, as this recent New York Times newsletter correctly acknowledges, "Congress still has plenty of problems." There are many causes for the inability of Congress to consistently pass meaningful legislation to solve our most difficult problems and many causes for the severe polarization in our country. However, I remain convinced that regardless of our political leanings, we want to solve difficult problems like gun violence, lethal force policing incidents, etc.

As stated in the cleveland.com newsletter that I shared earlier this month, I truly believe that if "6 year olds can do it, why can't we"?!

As we rapidly approach the midterm elections, I encourage all of you to consider carefully each candidate's commitment to problem-solving. We can and should demand elected officials who prioritize getting things done, not just representing their preferred political ideology.

Have a great month!

Allan