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SUMMARY REPORT
June 2010
A Regional Dialogue co-hosted by:
The Economic Development Collaborative-Ventura County
Community Environmental Council of Santa Barbara
California Forward
•M
ore strategic. “Government should be
fiscally responsible, realistic and grounded.
What can we do and what can’t we do?
Let’s define that better.”
page 2
Top Responses from the Discussion “We need the public to recognize the problems with the state, at the
If we make changes informed by California Forward’s same they have optimism about our ability to solve them.”
four principles, what would government look like?
- Voices of reform on the Central Coast
•M
ore regional, more local. “[We need to] better
clarify the roles and responsibilities of government
and get local agencies working together on WHICH SECTOR DO YOU HAVE MOST EXPERIENCE WITH?
decisions, rather than independently.” “Regional
levels [might work better] than having the state
WHO WAS THERE? 7%
42% 29% Public Sector
[government] all in Sacramento.” More than 60 community leaders from across 22%
Private Sector
Civic/Non-profit
Other
• Stronger local governments. “Local govern- the Central Coast participated in the discussion
ments should have more responsibility and at the Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center. The diverse
accountability, and they should be more group included:
responsible for how money is spent.” “[State] HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS?
• Sharon Siegel, staff member,
government should act as stewards for 19% 12%
Representative Lois Capps’ office Very Liberal
environment and resources…[they] should Somewhat Liberal
28% 42% Middle of the Road
do big things like infrastructure, health, and • Kathy Long, Supervisor, 3rd District, Somewhat Conservative
Very Conservative
education—and allow local governments to County of Ventura
tackle some of their own problems.”
• Maricela Morales, member,
• Data-driven performance. “Government should
Port Hueneme City Council WHAT ISSUE IN CALIFORNIA IS MOST CONCERNING
be driven by the taxpayers’ bottom line. What YOU RIGHT NOW?
do they want and what are they looking for?” • Mark Buchman, member, Board of Trustees, 10% 7% 2%
Economic Prosperity & Jobs
“[We need to make] data-driven decisions. San Luis Coastal Unified School District 29% 55% Education
Environment
[Even if it is just] understanding why we need a Health & Human Services
Public Infrastructure
new dogcatcher. [Is it] because we need one or
because we have more dogs?”
2% Initiative Process
and more time in responsive dialogue.” “We need 24%
Accountability Between
41% Levels of Government
to get back to representative democracy. If you 22% Partisan Gridlock
4% 7%
have people you can trust, you can accomplish Public Participation
in Government
page 3
“Local government should have more responsibility
and accountability. Local governments should be more responsible
for how money is spent.”
- Voices of reform on the Central Coast
page 4
“At the local level, government is often viewed as the enemy. Top Responses from the Discussion
We need to change that attitude. The government is us and we’re If we’re going to hold government accountable for
results, what does accountability look like?
a part of it.”
•M
ore trust. “Deliverables are easy: Clean
- Voices of reform on the Central Coast
streets, clear laws. Process is a bit harder.
[Government] should be just and fair. Less big
government, more small government. It should
Over the course of several hours partici-
also build trust using things like technology.”
pants quickly identified where they would
like a governance reform effort to start. • Responsibility. “Accountability means
government responsibility, personal
More than half (55 percent) said the responsibility, and also corporate
issues concerning them most in the state responsibility—it goes across all groups.”
were economic prosperity and jobs.
• Engagement. “Keeping people involved past
Over 70 percent of the group said
the initial election period [is important].
education was either their first or second
By December, it’s the holidays, no one’s even
priority, followed by environmental issues
thinking about who’s elected. We need to
and health and human services.
keep people engaged with the government
Participants were also very clear about and government engaged with us.”
which parts of government they are most
• Results. “What is government accountable for?
eager to reform. Nearly half (41 percent)
Results—tangible results, and those results
said the state’s budget and fiscal systems
need to be publicized in messaging that’s clear
need to change. One in four people in the room
and concise.”
expressed a desire to increase public participation
in government, and 22 percent said their top priority
was ending partisan gridlock.
page 5
“We need to get back to representative democracy.
If you have people you can trust, you can accomplish a lot more.”
- Voices of reform on the Central Coast
WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
In spite of the meeting’s optimistic tone, several
participants did offer some words of caution.
“A lot of policy changes that have damaged the
public interest have been made in the name of
these same ideas.”
page 6