Newsletter - October 2023

Between the horrific events in the Middle East to the dysfunction in the House of Representatives, it has been an extremely disconcerting month. A month that caused me to reflect and question my commitment to this work.

On balance, history as recent as World War II demonstrates that apathy and appeasement are the greatest enemies of freedom and democracy.

There are powerful forces and powerful people that are destabilizing the world and this country. Despite these forces, "we the people," by educating ourselves on candidates and issues, by speaking up, and by exercising our right to vote, have the power to protect our democracy and make our country and world a better place.

None of this is easy, or even guaranteed. Wading through misinformation and constructively engaging with people in debate is increasingly difficult. To make matters worse, elections and election workers are increasingly under attack.

My social media posts this month provided perspective on the state of our democracy, tools to combat misinformation and media bias, resources on elections and election officials, and reinforced how a strong partnership between our elected officials and their constituents can help promote and strengthen our democracy. If you haven't yet had a chance to review these posts, I encourage you to do so!

• Historian Heather Cox Richardson's NPR interview provides great perspective on the ouster of Kevin McCarthy and state of our democracy

• All-Sides' updated media bias chart is a great guide on the reporting lens of prominent media organizations (take, for example, three side-by-side reports on the history of the Israeli-Hamas conflict)

• AARP's October 25 media literacy class had some tips for being news savvy online

• PBS screened No Time to Fail, a moving account of the heroic work of Rhode Island's election administrators' work in the midst of the COVID pandemic. If you missed it, the film is available to stream through the World Channel and on-demand via all station-branded PBS platforms, including the PBS App.

• Issue One's report on high turnover of election officials highlighted a major barrier to running elections at the local level

• Fortune commentary on the role of business in supporting our democracy urged leaders to commit to their role in safeguarding elections ahead of the 2024 cycle

• Voice of the People's October newsletter highlighted bipartisan agreement on a number of major proposals on immigration. I encourage you to try their policymaking simulation on immigration. It only takes a few minutes, it's very enlightening, and you can share your findings with your congressional representatives.

Here's hoping we have a much better month than the last one. Have a happy Halloween and a great Thanksgiving.

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Newsletter - September 2023

Welcome and thank you to our new subscribers!

I'm devoting much of this newsletter to a review of what Speak Up for Good Government—and this website—is really all about.

The mission of Speak Up for Good Government is to improve the effectiveness of our federal government by reducing legislative gridlock and empowering the public to impact and inform federal legislation.

Each of my eight good government principles addresses a gap in the functioning of our federal government. When taken together, they form a path to a much-improved legislative process.

Speak Up for Good Government also identifies and promotes organizations whose work aligns with one or more of these principles. Links to organizations that I have identified and/or worked with can be found in the resources section under each principle.

As I establish connections with these organizations, I am trying to identify synergies and opportunities for collaboration between organizations.

Please let me know of any organizations that you are aware of that support any of my eight principles. I am particularly interested in identifying and connecting with organizations that are promoting the incorporation of regional differences into federal legislation, thus empowering states and municipalities to determine the best way to achieve national objectives.

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As I mentioned last month, I agreed to become the chairperson for ASQ's Center for Electoral Quality and Integrity. We have developed a draft set of best practices for eleven operational areas that we will be sharing with election officials in order to solicit their input. Once refined, the "consensus best practices" can be leveraged to increase voter confidence, support strategic benchmarking, and support development and implementation of model legislation designed to increase voter confidence in our election system.

Within the next two months, the Center for Electoral Quality and Integrity is expected to have a public-facing website and a social media presence that I will share with Speak Up Good Government newsletter subscribers and with social media followers.

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As we reach the end of the Jewish High Holidays, which are a time to reflect on "sins" and a time to resolve on ways to improve in the upcoming year, I continue to reflect on the importance of respect and empathy and I continue to work to improve my ability to actively listen to and respect those with differing views.

This month's social media posts all focused on respect, empathy, and civil discourse:

• Plain Dealer series on civil discourse - compromise

• Plain Dealer series on civil discourse - gerrymandering

• Braver Angels workshops to promote constructive conversations

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Have a great month.

Newsletter - August 2023

Quality centers around providing goods and services that meet or exceed customer expectations. From a Government perspective, that means meeting or exceeding the expectations of voters.

Voters' expectations and the "Voice of the Voter" are unifying themes that tie together all eight of my good government principles.

Although I have shared some positive information in my last two newsletters, there is broad agreement that, from the voters' perspective, our Federal Government is not meeting our expectations.

I continue to highlight the work of Voice of the People. Voice of the People is "working to re-anchor our democracy in its founding principles by giving ‘We the People’ a greater and more effective voice in government". Voice of the People Action is asking all congressional candidates, including current Members of the U.S. House and Senate, to take their "Listen to the People pledge".

I was very pleased that at this month's Leadership meeting for the American Society for Quality's (ASQ) Government Division, we discussed voice of the customer and how it is integral to the work we're doing.

Much of the work I'm personally involved with for ASQ Government Division's Center for Electoral Quality and Integrity revolves around voting processes that meet voter expectations and improving voter confidence in the overall electoral process. I have recently agreed to be the chairperson for this very important work. I will share additional details next month.

One of the challenges in listening to the voters is that we don't even talk to or listen to each other. Earlier this month, I attended a very informative and impactful workshop hosted by Braver Angels on having meaningful and constructive conversations with people that don't share your political ideology. Their "LAPP" methodology provides guidance on effective listening, acknowledging the other's perspective, pivoting from listening to a two-way dialog, and effective ways to share your perspective.

Here is a summary of this month's social media posts:

• An article that provides good insight into ranked choice voting

• The most recent Voice of the People newsletter

• A great commentary by George Will on entitlement reform

• A short video from the National Governor's Association on respect and empathy

• An article that provides a very interesting perspective on term limits

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Have a great month.