I just finished Mayor Al Arnold's book, Moving Mountains and Molehills, Local Politics 101 and I have to admit, that even for a dyed-in-the-wool old cynic like me, I actually learned something. I think I should explain that...
You see, I've always considered myself a "practitioner" of government...specifically LOCAL government. I'm a technician...a child of the 60's and 70's who believed in the technocracy of professional city management. So what did I learn from Al Arnold's little (no offense but it isn't the same length as War and Peace) book?
A shocking lesson.....
That shocking lesson was that those who wish to influence City Government aren't interested in the slightest with Gant Charts, Performance Reveiw Evaluation, Zero-based budgeting, Below-based budgeting, Line Item budgeting versus PPBS budgeting....
Nope...the citizens aren't interested in that at all.
Their interests are far more simple and as Al points out....pretty basic, from Cat Leash Laws to a "no-brainer" bandshell, citizens have very strong views and Al tells locals how to get those views across to city officials ....
Having spent most of my professional life with the gavel in my hand in one way or another, I can look at what Mayor Al wrote and see elements of it in many issues, great and small, that I've faced over the years and I recognize that there is a humble truth to his work.
A lot of my friends who read this blog consider themselves local activists and as such, I strongly encourage you to read Al's book...you can order it here. It will, I think, make you a better activist....just don't do it in any committee I happen to be chairing......roflmao.....
