Newsletter - November/December 2024

Happy holidays!

Following the election, I've spent a lot of time reflecting on what the results of the election mean for government effectiveness and for my work.

It is reasonable to assume with one party control of all three branches of government that we can expect a higher volume of legislation and much less gridlock than we have been accustomed to seeing. So, from a "productivity" perspective, we can expect a more effective government.

A key question is whether voter trust and satisfaction will improve, particularly given the fact that 48% of the electorate voted for the losing candidate.

As we approach the next two to four years, I'll be viewing my quest for a more effective government through a slightly changed lens. Although the specific nature of my work and my overall approach may change, the objectives remain unchanged. How our government works and the ability of our elected officials to solve important problems is critical for the future of our country.

I have begun joint conversations with Braver Angels and Voice of the People on a local pilot that would incorporate Voice of the People's public consultation methodology into Braver Angels' civil discourse conversations. I will provide updates on this exciting work in future newsletters.

In the runup to the election I shared Poynter's teen focused media literacy curriculum (suitable for all ages) and shared a great resource from Issue One on How Elections Work.

Wishing you and your family a safe and restful holiday season.

I'll be back in touch next year!

Newsletter - September 2024

We all know when we've had a good experience, bought a good product, or received outstanding service.

Unfortunately, this type of "good quality" happens much too infrequently, and it is seldom something that is associated with government. Nonetheless, I don't believe it is unreasonable to hold our government to the highest standards of quality.

The last of my good government principles is commitment to excellence. To a large extent, my seven other principles are a prerequisite to a "commitment to excellence" by Congress and by our government. However, there is also a standalone component to this principle that ties to how well Congress and our government perform their jobs.

Organizations that demonstrate a commitment to excellence consistently meet or exceed their customers' expectations by delivering high quality goods and services.

Throughout my career, I have been very fortunate to witness and support successful "Quality journeys" in a wide variety of industries and functional areas. "Quality journey" refers to the use of Continuous Improvement tools and techniques to achieve desired results. I firmly believe such a journey is possible for Congress and throughout our government.

---

As we get close to our November election, I feel it is appropriate to pause my newsletter until after the election.

I will likely publish one more newsletter this year. In that newsletter, I will provide an update on discussions I have had with a number of organizations and individuals on moving "government effectiveness" from a background or secondary topic to a top-of-mind goal for voters and our elected officials.

---

My social media posts this month focused on the upcoming election. I shared tools to help voters to sort through the information and misinformation we are being inundated with along with information on the heroic efforts of election officials to ensure we have a free and fair election.

• Poynter's "Find Facts Fast" media literacy course

• Info from Temple University on how to identify and avoid false information

• Issue One - Faces of Democracy

• Two short films that depict the work of election officials

  • The Officials

  • No Time to Fail

Please be sure to exercise your right to vote!

Newsletter - August 2024

Money in politics creates conflicts of interest for every candidate and office holder.

Thanks to Open Secrets, there is readily available data on the alarming amount of money spent on elections. Close to ten billion dollars will be spent on Congressional campaigns this election cycle. That's approximately $20 million per candidate. Members of the House of Representatives, who are subject to election cycles every two years, have to raise $30,000 every day to accumulate this amount of money!

There are a wide variety of organizations that contribute to election campaigns. Many of these organizations provide advice and/or counsel to candidates on pending legislation and most are advocating for specific causes.

It is unrealistic to expect our elected officials to be knowledgeable on all of the problems they are trying to solve. For that reason, it is critical that they get information from subject matter experts to support their legislative efforts. It is perfectly reasonable for subject matter experts to lobby politicians to incorporate their perspective in resulting legislation. Conflicts of interest occur when our elected officials accept money from the very people or entities that are providing them with expert advice.

Nothing would improve the effectiveness of our government more than eliminating this link between money and politics!

Voice of the People and the University of Maryland Program for Public Consultation found that large bipartisan majorities favor a constitutional amendment to allow governments greater freedom to regulate campaign financing (thus overturning the Citizens United decision). Large bipartisan majorities also favor numerous requirements for increasing disclosure of campaign financing. Here's a link that provides more details on these findings and another link to an interactive survey that allows you to evaluate a number of proposals for improving campaign financing.

Most large companies have very strict conflict-of-interest rules. These rules severely restrict gifts or favors that employees can accept, they require all employees to attend conflict of interest and ethics training on an annual basis, and they require them to promptly disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest. It seems only fair for our elected officials to be bound by similar standards.

Social media posts this month:

• A broad overview of campaign finance spending

• How much money has been spent on elections over the last thirty years

• Biggest organizational donors to federal elections

• House and Senate ethics rules

Have a great month!