Dynamic Citizen Survey

Over the last four elections the Grass Roots Education and Action Team (GREAT) has put out rather detailed candidate surveys that were publicized in the Eagle and posted on line for all to see. This was a very expensive and time consuming effort that we decided to forgo this year. We have had lots of inquiries about the survey. After last night’s forum I had told some folks that we would try to get a survey out. But that was momentary insanity. Those surveys were prepared early and sent out on the day that candidate filing closed, which has long since passed. Candidates were given three weeks to prepare their answers, which they begrudgingly did. These surveys were composed of 10-12 long essay questions on a wide range of local issues.

While it is important that we understand where the candidates stand on issues that are important to us, it is perhaps just as important that we thoroughly understand those issues ourselves. One of the best ways to do this is through an open exchange of ideas. This year we will do a dynamic citizen survey here at Life on the Brazos. We will post a new question daily Monday through Friday until the election. We hope that people will take time to answer these questions as they would like a candidate to answer them. Of course we also encourage candidates to answer these questions. We will pull candidate answers to the front page of the blog to highlight those answers. We will try to cover all of the questions, including those that did not get asked from last night’s forum. Please feel free to contribute other questions as well.

We hope that this new format will stir discussion and help folks feel more directly connected to the processes that impact their community. We are committed to the idea that citizen involvement is the key to building great community.