Caucusing: Not Just for Presidential Primaries
It's hardly a surprise that Seattle's plan to build a new jail somewhere in the city limits when its contract with King County expires in 2012 is being roundly blasted by everyone living within spitting distance of the four proposed sites. What did catch me off guard about last weekend's railing against two proposed locations in the industrial area abutting West Seattle along the Duwamish, was the format used to let people pop off on the plan.
I was a little hesitant to go, having sat through my share of public forums for things everyone hates only to listen to a parade of people ranting into a microphone. Even legitimate points get lost in the litany of complaints that often wax a little paranoid-conspiracy-theory. But when I arrived, there were 15 tables set up with large writing pads. We would be caucusing!
Over at table 14, where I sat, everyone started by getting to know a little about each other: Jennifer Redeker has two kids and remembers when she and her husband called their neighborhood just up the hill from West Marginal Way "Duck 'n Cover". David Preston arrived in a rumpled button up, and has a bit of an activist streak. He told Redeker she was the kind of person that made it a great neighborhood.
Then everyone sat down, agreed on their primary concerns about the jail—property values, crime, would people be let out from that facility or somewhere else—and designated a newer neighborhood resident, Melissa Saxe, to voice their grievances. Each table got five minutes to present, covering a lot of ground in a more distilled, less-rambling kind of way.
The points still weren't unique or surprising and whether a jail will even be built remains to be seen. But in the category of "achievement in organizing a pleasant public bitch session" the award goes to the City of Seattle.
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