THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9504010179
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J6 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: BY THE PEOPLE
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Residents of Fairmount Park, Lafayette-Winona and Ballentine Place in Norfolk walk, bicycle or drive through their neighborhoods hoping to head off trouble. Folks in Portsmouth are getting together in small groups to talk about race relations in the city.
In Virginia Beach, citizens helped solve the graffiti problem.
None of those acts are really extraordinary - but the results can be. Such subtle efforts often cause a ripple effect across a city and a region.
Acts like these have changed Roanoke, Chattanooga, Portland and other cities across the nation.
These newspapers will chronicle citizens' efforts to make Hampton Roads a better place to live in an occasional series called ``By The People.'' You've seen stories like this in the past; now you'll be able to spot them quickly.
Researchers, academics and government officials have acknowledged that citizens want government to run better and that they care about the community.
Many city residents are skeptical about getting involved in community projects or neighborhood efforts because they believe government is not receptive. Indeed, some have learned through experience that bureaucracy can put up many roadblocks.
But government is learning. Bureaucrats have become frustrated that the system is slow and that even when things get done, folks aren't always happy with the results. They have discovered that people tend to buy in on decisions when they have a hand in making them.
Citizens have learned that, while it's worthwhile, it is not always easy to share the stage with government.
``In our quest for efficiency, we forgot democracy is the least efficient idea on earth,'' said Hal Conklin, the mayor of Santa Barbara, Calif., and a vice president for the National League of Cities, which has begun working to encourage citizen involvement. ``We forget that the fundamental role of democracy is that it is a participatory experience.''
Conklin discussed his ideas in Washington, D.C., with city leaders from across the nation.
``The era of the blue-ribbon committee is dead,'' Conklin said. ``People want to be involved in what impacts them directly - what affects their daily lives.''
Sociologist Amitai Etzioni says we, as citizens, can't have a right without an obligation.
``Let's have a new compact,'' Etzioni said. ``Let's think of each other as neighbors and friends who make government possible.''
To make it work, there must be a sense of urgency, enlightenment and even some imagination - from both officials and citizens.
``When people knock on government's door and say, `I demand,' we should answer, `How can we help you help yourself?' '' Etzioni said.
He and other officials said community efforts are more about governance than government - a subtle difference, but one they hope will reinvigorate the democratic process.
``In an era of alienation and distrust of the public process, people need to be reconnected; to own a sense of public participation,'' Conklin said. ``We need to restore people's faith in community - not in government, because that's a losing battle.''
So when you see ``By The People,'' you'll know it's a story about the ongoing struggles to improve community and to discuss the pitfalls of participation.
By chronicling those efforts, these newspapers are taking on their responsibility to make Hampton Roads a better place in which to live and work. MEMO: Some Hampton Roads churches are helping solve social problems in the
neighborhoods they serve. See story on Page B1 of some editions. by CNB