Index of SPPS Budget Discussion http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/spps-posts.html _________________________________________ Privacy of elected officials covers a broad gamut from personal lives to policy and service delivery, etc. Context is one of the defining variables regarding communication with elected officials at their home. A blanket rule regarding this issue would probably not be possible or even reasonable.
Evaluation of contextual elements and their interrelationships provides clues to judging whether contact is appropriate. Who gets to judge is another criteria Overt considerations might include the existing relationship, the issue and its timeliness, generally accepted definitions of courtesy, the level of government, and the size of the political entity. Size of the entity might include geographic size as well as population. Covert considerations might include economic and social class and what each person perceives they gain/lose from the communication. Each of these dimensions of privacy is a discussion onto itself. The level of government and size of the entity are two contextual aspects related to the privacy of elected officials. The closer to home the level of government the more appropriate contact at home becomes. Size plays a role in this interrelationship also. In a small town it might be entirely appropriate to contact the mayor at home. Many small towns cover one square mile. It would not be a big deal to cross the street to speak with the mayor. Especially if, for example, she was outside raking it would be natural, even neighborly to engage in conversation. These conversations might reasonably include policy and service delivery issues. Often personal relationships go back for generations in small towns. In this case, under reasonable circumstances, it would most likely be appropriate to contact the mayor at home. Contacting a city council person or mayor in a small time is often the way business is done without even thinking about it. In larger cities preexisting relationships might not exist. Geographic distance plays a role also. A person might have to make a conscious decision to go a great distance to speak with the mayor at home. For example, in some cities a person might have to cross two, and sometimes three, rivers to speak with the mayor at home. Under those circumstances, at least at the surface, it might start to seem unreasonable to contact the mayor at home. Economic and social class also plays a role. No one would blink an eye if say a wealthy businessperson comes over to a large city mayor's home and sits in his living room to discuss his idea to start up a large industry in a residential neighborhood. Contrast that with a poor person with no available public or private transportation walking miles and miles across one or two rivers to discuss poor plowing on his street. How would we judge that? Overt and covert biases, world view and context, context, context -- that is my early morning contribution to this discussion thread. Enjoy your week-ends! [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mary C. Zanmiller West Seventh Neighborhood Saint Paul, MN USA _____________________________________________ SPPS Budget Reduction Forum - Feb. 23-27 Co-Sponsored By NEAT: http://www.stpaulneat.org/ _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
