So, another week has passed. FBI probes, indictments, mass shootings and sex and infidelity scandals are what greet us morning, noon and night. Our government in Washington can’t seem to pass legislation. Our President can’t stop the tweets. And Tallahassee is trying to run every Floridian’s life in the name of giving the individual freedom. This is the state of the nation.

Being a citizen means more than just coming to the polls and voting at election time. Throughout their terms, elected officials need to have citizen participation on an ongoing basis. As one of those elected officials, I need that input to do my job. Residents, taxpayers and voters must be active and informed for our system of government to work.

When I am on the dais, I will always see City staff in the audience. There will be lawyers and planners representing applicants waiting their turn before the Commission. Perhaps a neighbor or two that may be affected by the proposed projects. And, as usual, two or three citizens, the same citizens that attend meeting after meeting. This is not acceptable. In order to make sure that our Commission acts for the benefit of the entire City, more residents need to know what is going on.

We need citizens to be there even when a project will not directly affect them. We need citizens to be there to make sure that a “favored” friend is not voted an undue advantage. We need citizens there to make sure that nothing is slipped by without, at the least, a voice to sound the alarm and remember. We need citizens because otherwise we will have a government that is not accountable to the people.

It is true that the farther government is from the people the less responsive it is to the people. Congress and the Legislature know that and that is why they have made government less and less accountable by taking away or pre-empting local control. But even local government only stays accountable by having citizens involved. You can’t be in Washington or Tallahassee on a weekly basis. You can be at City Hall.