Political Resources
Proposals for Action
Community Dialogs with Elected Officials
Federal legislation requires Congresspersons, Senators, and the President to participate with randomly selected constituents in a two-hour Community Dialog on the second Saturday of each month at 10 am. If necessary the elected official participates via a video conference call.
The Dialogs are carefully structured and moderated to assure that they are orderly and give constituents a fair opportunity to offer input and ask questions. The moderator is a neutral, well-respected journalist. Constituents who who want to speak and are registered to vote (in the District or State respectively) submit their name. The moderators randomly select speakers whose registration is verified.
The Dialog begins with a 10-minute report from the official concerning their recent activities and their plans for the future, and concludes with the official giving a 10-minute response to the comments and questions that were presented during the Dialog.
Constituents make comments or ask questions on any topic. Each speaker is allotted ninety seconds. If they ask a question, the official can use the rest of the speaker’s time to answer the question, or the speaker can interrupt by saying “thank you” and use the rest of their time to comment. If anyone exceeds the time limit the moderator signals to a technician to turn off the microphone.
Each Dialog includes a live audience. Speakers can ask the audience to indicate support on an given position by raising their hand. Community organizations distribute literature at tables. Participants stay after the Dialog to discuss issues informally.
The officials are responsible for recruiting the moderator, securing a location, arranging logistics, publicizing the event, and arranging to have it streamed live on the Internet and cable TV.