MPA Capstone Learning and Professional Development Portfolio Piece of Evidence Cover Sheet Name: Samuel T. Weekley Title/Label of Evidence: Civic Engagement and Online Participation for the Property Tax Amendments on the 2012 Ballot Type of Evidence: o Course assignment for (identify class): PAD 6908, Independent Study, Dr. Rui Sun o Internship artifact for (identify internship): _____________________________________ o Written reflection produced for the portfolio o Other (explain): __________________________________________________________________ __ Competency/capacity addressed: 4e: Incorporate and value principles of democracy in the workplace Self Assessment Score: 3 Criteria you have met: Can apply principles of democracy (and frameworks) to specific situations and contexts. Is able to articulate how she/he views collaborative leadership as a professional competency. Instructor Assessment Score: ___________ Check list: o Written assessment follows completed rubric o Evidence is located after written assessment or may be found under another tab/page of the portfolio (add location): _________________________________________ o Additional supporting evidence included Three pieces within this portfolio mean more to me than any of the analyses that I have conducted during my academic career, and this piece happens to be one of them. This report, originally written as a literature review for an incomplete publication, this piece marks a major transition in understanding of the principles of research analyses, and also represents a shift in how I approached my research. Dr. Rui Sun, who I may add was one of only three professors within the MPA program at UCF who recognized my hard work and effort and took an interest in making me into a more competent student, provided an opportunity to conduct an independent study with her over the summer semester of 2013 focused solely on the citizen participation initiatives utilized by Florida’s state government to engage citizens concerning the 2012 property tax amendments. The work was demanding, tedious, and exceedingly difficult, but with Dr. Sun’s guidance I feel I became a much more competent and capable student, and man (for that matter), as her insistence on challenging me to be the best I could be molded me into the man that I needed to be to be successful at the next level. This piece, while only a literature review, was a part of a much larger project that not only analyzed tax policy data, but also made me a stronger man in the process. For that I will always be grateful, and excited for the opportunity to work on any project Dr. Sun provides me an opportunity to work for her on. Civic Engagement and Public Participation for the Property Tax Amendments on the 2012 Florida Ballot: A Lit Review Name: Course: Instructor: Independent Study PAD 6908 Dr. Rui Sun Introduction Civic engagement by a representative government, and public participation by its constituency are two crucial components of a liberal democracy designed to contend with individualism by facilitating an environment conducive for active citizenship; reduce conflict by reducing control, and protect the freedoms of the constituency base from the imposition of tyranny by an autocratic government (Warren 1992, p. 8). Fundamental questions pertaining to who, what, why, where, and how are imperative for extrapolating relevant data for public policy decision-making, which ultimately facilitates an environment conducive for, “well-functioning citizen-centered collaborative public management” (Cooper, Bryer & Meek 2006, p. 84). Civic Engagement Fundamentals The idea of, and belief in a public policy decision-making process that sufficiently accounts for civic engagement and public participation is synonymous with the rationale of democracy’s greatest philosophers and advocates (Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, & Locke to name a few) whose doctrine for, and understanding of human needs and emotions transcended those of their immediate peers, and would ultimately become the foundation of the democratic ideal that all men (and women) regardless of their ethnic, economic, educational, and societal positions, are indeed created equal, and must be provided equal opportunities to civil rights and liberties, as well as the capacity to engage each other directly as equals concerning public problems (Fung 2006, p. 68). In this respect public participation is the primary medium for the exchange of policy related information and communication (Baker, Addams & Davis 2005, p. 490), through a deliberative process that engages citizens and stakeholders in policy related dialogue (Lukenmeyer 2013) that generates opinions and innovative ideas utilized by government officials and stakeholders to significantly decrease the potential for misshapen public opinion, (Roberts 2004, p. 316) and ensure the consideration of any and all impacts and ramifications before the completion of the public policy decision-making process (Bryer 2007, p. 428). Direct Democracy and Brazil The benefits of citizen engagement and public participation are indeed multifaceted, but encompass a fundamental supposition that the promotion of accountability, and transparency establish a foundation for citizen trust, and supportive civic behaviors concerning the representativeness of a government (Wang & Bryer 2011, p. 194). Public participation is “intrinsically valuable,” because of its capacity for keeping communal life relative, holding public entities accountable, resolving complex public issues and conflicts, and advancing a “public spirited moral character,” with the efficacious realization that through civic engagement citizens are able to realize their ultimate potential as, “an integral, and essential part of the governance process” (Roberts 2004, ps. 320 & 323). Brazil, which harbors the world’s seventh largest economy, provides an exemplary example that ultimately became a modern era archetype for the democratic process, and civic engagement with the implementation of its constitution in 1988. Even today however, Brazil faces economic and social crises that hinder its desire for, and realization of complete economic autonomy. High poverty levels, intense political and social inequalities, and a lack of concern on behalf of local government officials for fundamental democratic principles are elements that contribute to what Wampler (2009) suggests is “limited citizenship” (Wampler 2009, p. 21). Yet, even considering its highly documented economic and social troubles, many of the larger economies within the country participate in a participatory budgeting process that affords local stakeholders and constituents an opportunity to work directly with public policy decision-makers through town-hall fashioned forums to achieve public policy solutions to these inequities. Participatory budgeting has produced substantial, and significant results (for Brazil) that seem to indicate a positive trend for public approval as it relates to the reinforcement of the democratic ideal through public participation. Citizens who actively engage in the participatory process, whether annually, or for a specific one-time purpose (i.e. a public project) have been more likely to approve of, and support their local government’s initiatives, even if the associated cost is higher than average. The effect of participatory budgeting in Brazil is multifaceted, but the consensus is that engaged citizens, “understand their own problems better than government officials,” and therefore will be able to match proposed public policy and projects to their needs (Wampler 2009, 59 & 60). Civically engaged participants become empowered citizens, and gain a greater understanding for the democratic process utilized by their elected government, and learn more about the character and ideology of their elected officials. In many ways this process mirrors the elemental principles of accountability, and propounds the imperativeness of two way communication and collaboration, and that just as citizens should not be viewed (by the government) as clients of the state, the government, and government officials should not be viewed (by citizens) as autonomous figureheads, but rather as facilitators for effective public policy. AmericaSpeaks & the Metropolitan Revolution The concept of direct democracy is universal, but the application is more complex and difficult when negotiating with a representative government. The application of direct democracy in the United States for example may be more applicative to local governments than to federal and even state governments because of bureaucracy, and the consent voters relinquish to federal officials to govern and make policy according to the consensus held by the majority. AmericaSpeaks, a nonpartisan nonprofit founded by Dr. Carolyn J. Lukenmeyer, has conducted participative public policy discussion forums focused on engaging citizens within communities where existing citizen apathy toward representative government impedes that local government’s capacity for securing citizen and stakeholder trust, and any attempt at a well-planned long term commitment. Lukenmeyer (2013) describes civic engagement and public participation initiatives, such as those conducted by AmericaSpeaks as a “deliberative process,” designed to reduce special interest power, produce durable public policies, “build constituencies committed to specific outcomes,” and increase public trust in their respective representative government (Lukenmeyer 2013). In her book Bringing Citizen Voices to the Table: A Guide for Public Managers; Lukenmeyer (2013) highlights successes, and lessons learned from numerous AmericaSpeaks initiatives conducted within communities around the United States that have, or continue to suffer from citizen apathy for representative government. “The goal of deliberative forums,” Lukenmeyer writes, “ is to illuminate why people support certain courses of action, and what their reservations and main concerns are” (Lukenmeyer 2013). In fact, deliberative forums such as those conducted by AmericaSpeaks have been employed throughout history by representative democracies in ancient Greece, Rome, and the United States of America, as a platform for citizen participation to ensure that public policy accounts for citizen needs and concerns, and that public managers and civil service leaders can formulate relationships within diverse constituencies that ultimately aid in the construction of an direct democracy infrastructure. In The Metropolitan Revolution Katz and Bradley (2013) build on the idea of public participation in public policy decision making, and note that there has been a shift in power from the federal to the metropolitan-local level, as many metropolitan-local officials and leaders have taken it upon themselves to formulate public policy, and broker regional and international partnerships that will benefit their local economy (Katz and Bradley 2013). Metropolitan mayors such as Mike Bloomberg are embracing globalization as an economic solution to the financial shortfalls New York City has witnessed in the last decade. The City of Cleveland, Ohio, once believed to be a failed metropolis has established a partnership with Quicken Loans entrepreneur and billionaire Dan Gilbert, and many other for-profit, and nonprofit organizations to revive the downtown landscape. With these examples in mind, it will be interesting to see whether or not direct democracy becomes the exclusive method for the establishment of facilitating and enabling public policy, or will representative government continue to advance initiatives according to their perception of the majority rule. Social Media and the 2012 Amendments Conceptualizing civic engagement and public participation for the context of this study required the compartmentalization of multiple definitions and applicative examples used within correlating studies to describe the collective action of deliberation and civic engagement (Cooper, 2005, p. 534), “in a variety of arenas, including governmental/administrative, electoral, and civil society” (Wang & Bryer 2011, p. 179). The data accumulated indicates that today, perhaps more than any time in history, civic engagement and public participation is perceived by our representative government and the constituents for whom they govern to be an imperative element of the public policy decision-making process, and more importantly to the democratic ideal. What has changed are the modes used to facilitate civic engagement and public participation, which are in a constant state of metamorphosis, adapting to meet the demands of hyperinterconnected society. Social media technology as a platform for public participation is a widely popular medium for civic engagement, and facilitating public policy decision-making discussions, because of its capacity for spanning boundaries, and “enabling deliberation” (Bryer & Zavattaro 2011, p. 327) and collaboration across stakeholder bases. As an asset, social media accounts are also inexpensive, barring operational cost, and costs related to organizational transparency. In this regard, social media, if used properly as a functional tool for civic engagement and public participation is easily manageable, and has a minimal impact to both the government and stakeholders who utilize the technology for these purposes. The use of social media technology to communicate public policy viewpoints has been in use since the 2004 presidential election, however the social media landscape has expanded, becoming for many a primary mean for communication. In place of singular, one-way communication, government entities and officials now have a capacity for generating and facilitating public discussion between stakeholders and citizens on an unprecedented scale. This method for civic engagement has drastically altered the political and policy making panorama, as policy decision-makers are provided with hard data that in many cases, including the opinions of Florida’s Congress during the 2012 legislative session, completely changes the political outcome. Special interest groups, particularly Florida’s League of Women Voters, the Florida Realtor’s Association, Florida Tax Watch, and the Florida Chamber of Commerce played a decisive role by distributing policy briefs composed either in house, or through a third party think tank, that were ultimately designed to promote an organizational wide political view, and to shape public opinion. Effective Public Participation? For the purpose of this research, we attempted to measure the efficacy of the channels provided to constituents for public feedback concerning the 2012 Florida Constitutional Amendments on the 2012 Florida ballot. Our research indicated that the use of public organizational Websites by public agencies to facilitate conversation concerning policy formulation and implementation was rare, while the use of social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter) had increased significantly. As to the question of why the (seemingly strategic) under-utilization of organizational Websites occurred so frequently, while social media use to engage citizens seems to be so prevalent, the answer is multifarious, with the cost, whether financial or organizational far outweighing the benefit. This assumption aligns with theories proposed by both Baker and Addams (2005), and Wang and Bryer (2011) who suggest governments generally perceive civic engagement as a costly, time consuming, and complex agglomeration of issues rather than an opportunity to unify public sentiment and perception with policy that accounts for stakeholder and constituent demand. Policy based arguments, particularly those for the 2012 Florida Amendments, were facilitated on such a large scale, and included so many stakeholders and citizens that the use of an organizational Website to do so could impede other functions (of the Website) necessary to the organization’s day-to-day operational performance. High Website traffic also tends to draw unwanted attention from Internet hacking organizations and lone wolves that continue to present challenges in the way of cyber-security to governments internationally. So the question remains: What is the most effective method for actively, and virtually engaging citizens who do not use social media as a part of their everyday lives? If Wang and Bryer’s (2011) postulation, which presents a high-degree of unlikelihood that governmental entities will yield a transformational approach to civic engagement using “more intensive” mediums and technologies for public participation is to be accepted, then what is the perceived future for civic engagement? (Wang & Bryer 2011, p. 180). Our study indicated that the most effective platform for engaging constituents during the 2012 election was the public comment function available on print news media Websites. Although the comment function provided at the end of the vast majority of the news articles analyzed (for this study) was not associated with any specific government entity, the citizen feedback denoted the majority sentiment (of participating constituents), which was clearly used to shape state and local leadership opinions. This conclusion became visible from the point (in time) in which these amendments were initially conceived during the 2011 Florida legislative session, until the end of the 2012 Florida legislative session. From their initial conception these constitutional amendments, particularly those pertaining to property taxes, were perceived (by the legislative majority) as necessary mean to ensure long-term public sector fiscal sustainability. After further analysis of the economic and social impacts of the 2012 Florida Constitutional Amendments however, a plethora of policy relevant information was generated and published with commentary by an extensive number of Florida’s print news media outlets. With each article, a designated space known to most as a comment function was afforded to readers for public feedback opportunities. The comment function in a high percentage of observed cases accomplished essentially the same objective that a town-hall style public forum would achieve, with the added benefit of hard data in the words of the constituents themselves. We are however obliged to note that oftentimes the discussions veered from relatively substantive to borderline obscurity, but the substantive data generated, one may advance, was indeed useful for legislators, as well as stakeholders and constituents to make an informed decision at the ballot box. This supposition supports a theory determined and expounded by Wang and Bryer (2011) that implies a, “relationship between participation mechanisms and participation quantity levels,” and speculates that “a participation mechanism (in this case the comment function on print news media articles) with lower participation costs to citizens is associated with greater participation quantity” (Wang & Bryer 2011, p. 193). References Baker, W. H., Addams, H. L., & Davis, B. (2005). Critical factors for enhancing municipal public hearings. Public Administration Review, 65, 490-499. Bryer, T. A. (2007a). Toward a relevant agenda for a responsive public administration. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 17, 479-500. Bryer, T. A. (2009). Explaining responsiveness in collaboration: Administrator and citizen role Perceptions. Public Administration Review, 69, 271-283. Bryer, T. A., & Zavattaro, S. M. (2011). 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Ph.D. (2013) Bringing Citizen Voices to the Table: A Guide for Public Managers. ISBN-13: 978-1118230879. Jossey-Bass: Wiley & Sons Publising. Roberts, N. (2004). Public deliberation in an age of direct citizen participation. American Review of Public Administration, 34, 315-353. Wampler, Brian (2009) Participatory Budgeting in Brazil: Contestation, Cooperation, and Accountability. Pennsylvania State University Press University Park, PA. Wang, Xiao Hu & Bryer, T.A. (2009) Assessing the Costs of Public Participation: A Case Study of Two Online Participation Mechanisms. American Review of Public Administration. Thousand Oaks, CA – SAGE. Warren, M. (1992). Democratic theory and self-transformation. American Political Science Review, 86(1), 8-23.
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