Healthy Democracy’s good friend and former Board member, John Frohnmayer, shares his thoughts on what we are learning from the Corona Virus, and the opportunities that live on the other side of the crisis. Faced with the Civil War and the potential dissolution of the Union, Abraham Lincoln said: “The dogmas of the quiet past […]
I wanted to take a moment this month, in this extraordinary time in our country, to do a simple check in with our fellow democracy advocates. One of the things that the current health crisis in the United States has done is to remind us that we are all in this together, just as we
Democracy as Community: Pandemic Edition Read More »
In early-March 2020, HD’s Linn Davis observed France’s national Citizens’ Convention on Climate. He reports on the potential influence of the Convention, and suggests questions for deliberative practitioners to consider.
It’s a pretty cold time of year to surf real waves in the North Atlantic, so it’s a good thing this one is metaphorical. Healthy Democracy’s colleagues in Europe are calling it a “Deliberative Wave,” and that’s no exaggeration. Across the continent, from Poland to Spain, randomly selected citizens’ assemblies are breaking new ground in
Catching the UK’s “Deliberative Wave” Read More »
The Oregon legislature just started their short session on February 1. Senator Arnie Roblan, who sponsored the bill that put the Citizens’ Initiative Review in statute, is proposing that the legislature commit funds to ensure this uniquely Oregon innovation in democracy can be sustained. His OpEd appears below: Oregon was one of the first states
Citizens’ Initiative Review Needs Legislative Funding Read More »
Media Contact: Robin Teater, Executive Director Ph: 503-381-1196, email: robin@healthydemocracy.org (Milwaukie, OR) — A diverse cross section of 18 Milwaukie residents has concluded a four-day review of Milwaukie City Council compensation and presented their findings to the Milwaukie City Council at their November 12 held at the Public Safety Building. The citizen panel was part of a
Citizens Jury Panel Presents Recommendation on Milwaukie City Council Compensation Read More »
For a few weeks in September, we had the pleasure of hosting a visiting undergraduate student, Jillian Gilburne, who is a senior at Northwestern University studying political science, communication studies, and human-centered design. In an effort to better understand what motivates local officials to take on the challenge of achieving equitable, representative public engagement, Jillian
Politicians & Public Participation — Tackling a Quintessential Design Problem Read More »
Farres Alkhaiyer joined Healthy Democracy in August as a fellow with the 2019-2020 Community Solutions Program, a prestigious fellowship program run by the DC-based nonprofit IREX. This program brings together 80 of the brightest community leaders from around the world for four months of intensive leadership development in the United States. As he enters his second month
A Reflection on Month Two in the U.S. Read More »
On September 21 at Concordia University, Healthy Democracy hosted the 3rd, and final, component of the 2019 Community Oregon program, the Community Oregon Expo. Community Oregon is a program of our organization designed in response to the need to increase understanding and communication among diverse segments of Oregon’s electorate. The final phase of the program
Learning. Livability. Leaning in. Read More »
On Saturday, September 14, at the C Bar C Ranch in Powell Butte, Oregon, Citizen University, Healthy Democracy, Oregon Humanities, and the Deliberative Democracy Consortium partnered to host Civic Saturday, a morning filled with civic reflection, connections, and inspiration. Wendy Willis, a Civic Seminarian through the Citizen University and the Executive Director of the Deliberative Democracy
Civic Saturday reflections . . . It’s magic y’all Read More »
UPDATE: The Milwaukie Citizens Jury Selection Event – Sept. 11, 6PM, at Milwaukie City Hall – will be live streamed on the internet, for anyone not able to attend in person. Simply visit the City of Milwaukie’s YouTube page here. An archived version of the live stream will appear on that same page following the
Monday, August 12 marked Farres Alkhaiyer’s first day with Healthy Democracy. Farres joins Healthy Democracy as a fellow in the 2019-2020 Community Solutions Program, a prestigious fellowship program run by the DC-based nonprofit IREX. This program brings together 80 of the brightest community leaders from around the world for four months of intensive leadership development in
Welcome to Farres Alkhaiyer . . . Dreams away from screams Read More »
The Milwaukie Citizens Jury on City Council Compensation will now take place Sat, Nov. 9 to Tues., Nov. 12, 2019. As detailed in a previous press release, we postponed the Citizens Jury to the fall due to a low response rate and a resulting lack of demographic diversity in our response pool. The inherent legitimacy
New Dates Announced: Milwaukie Citizens Jury on City Council Compensation Read More »
Due to a low response rate, Healthy Democracy and the City of Milwaukie have postponed the forthcoming Milwaukie Citizens Jury on Council Compensation – Oregon’s first-ever local government Citizens Jury. In the past few weeks, we did not receive a sufficient number of responses to form a citizen panel reflective of the general public. The
Milwaukie Citizens Jury Postponed to Fall 2019 Read More »
UPDATE: Due to a lower-than-typical response rate, we did not received sufficient replies to form a citizen panel fully reflective of the demographics of the Milwaukie public. Therefore, we have taken the unusual step of postponing the Citizens Jury to Fall 2019. More details on that decision (and new dates, when announced) may be found
Five thousand randomly selected Milwaukie households were mailed a letter this week, giving individuals in those households a chance to be part of a unique partnership between the City of Milwaukie and Healthy Democracy. Individuals who receive the mailing can be a part of the first ever Citizens Jury in the state, in Milwaukie. A
Citizens Jury is coming to Milwaukie, Oregon Read More »
John Frohnmayer was the keynote speaker at the Healthy Democracy 10th Anniversary Celebration on April 8, 2019. Enjoy his words of wisdom . . . and celebrate our 10 years and beyond! Nobody ever said that being a citizen in a democracy was easy. Each of us in this room tonight could give at least
Eight Suggestions for Democracy – John Frohnmayer’s Keynote Speech Read More »
From The Los Angeles Times: . . . By contrast, the review process for citizen ballot measures is woefully inadequate and sometimes leads to the passage of initiatives that don’t stand up to legal scrutiny. That’s what happened with Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage, and Proposition 187, which limited public services to immigrants who
The Portland metro area is hosting its first-ever Citizens’ Initiative Review (CIR), facilitated by Healthy Democracy, a nonpartisan, nonprofit based in Portland. Up for review: the Metro Region Affordable Housing Bond Measure. A cross-section of voters – who are randomly selected to match the demographics of the metro region in key areas such as political affiliation,
The 2018 Portland Metro Area CIR is Starting Today! (And Running Aug. 23-26) Read More »
The Portland metro area is hosting its first-ever Citizens’ Initiative Review (CIR), facilitated by Healthy Democracy, a nonpartisan, nonprofit based in Portland. Up for review: the Metro Region Affordable Housing Bond Measure. A cross-section of voters – who are randomly selected to match the demographics of the metro region in key areas such as political affiliation,
2018 Portland-Area CIR Details Read More »
PORTLAND, Ore. — Healthy Democracy, a nonprofit nonpartisan organization that pioneered the Citizens’ Initiative Review, will be holding a public event to randomly select a group of registered voters from Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties to serve on a review panel to examine the Metro Region Affordable Housing Bond Measure that voters will be asked to vote
Citizen Panel to be Selected to Review Metro Region Affordable Housing Bond Measure Read More »
Got This Letter in Your Mail? You’ve won the democracy lottery! If you received the letter, you have a chance to be part of a Citizens’ Initiative Review. If you reply and are randomly selected, you will: Spend four days reviewing a measure on the November ballot, as part of a 20-person citizen panel Have
2018 Portland-Area CIR Announcement Read More »
Into the Central Oregon barn walked students with purple hair, red Chuck Taylor high tops, and silver nose rings. They were gay and straight, male and female; each of them young, and all of them environmental studies majors from Lewis and Clark College in Portland.
Greeting them were farmers in Oregon State baseball caps and ranchers with silver hair beneath cowboy hats, and small timber operators with the scars to prove it. Some were young, but most were less young, and all had lived their lives and were making their living on the soil of the small Crook County community of Powell Butte.
This is What Democracy Looks Like: Notes from Conversations in a Crook County Barn Read More »
From May 21st to 25th, 10th-grade students at La Follette High School in Madison will have the opportunity to dive deeper into a hotly debated current issue: whether the Madison School Board should renew its contract for educational resource officers (EROs) at district high schools.
Madison Students Investigate School Safety Through Deliberative Democracy Read More »
Join us 9am-3:30pm, April 14th, 2018 for “Bringing Participatory Budgeting to the Portland Region”, a one-day community forum to learn from PB innovators with experience in Seattle, Oakland, and Boston and discuss the possibilities for our communities.
Bringing Participatory Budgeting to the Portland Region Read More »
