Last week, on Thursday, I was elected President of the Government Hill Community Council. I think both the GHCC and I need to have our heads examined. But....
I don't know if other communities in the US have community councils, but in Anchorage, they are the most basic level of our participatory democracy. Anchorage is divided up into council districts - I don't know how many there are - maybe fifteen. Anyhoo, anyone who lives in or owns property within a council boundary is eligible to participate and vote on council issues. Council meetings are held monthly and all residents and property owners within the area receive the agenda in advance and are invited to attend the meetings. City Assembly representatives, and State Legislators also either attend or send a representative. This is about as grassroots as it gets.
Most community council issues are along the lines of traffic control, park maintenance, building permits, neighborhood trash, etc. However, Government Hill is very different - the neighborhood (Anchorage's oldest!), is small bluff enclave bordered by Elemendorf Air Force Base, the Port of Anchorage, The Alaska Railroad, several oil tank farms, and other commercial operations. So, if you look at that list you can see lots of potential for differing view points and agendas. Vast amounts of money and power are also involved - all the way from the U.S. Senate down to little ol' us...
As a result, our community council is very very different. We deal with huge multi-million dollar issues and all sorts of powerful players. Fortunately, our community council has a bunch of very very bright, energetic, and committed people. I'm rather new to active community council participation. But I have to say that in an odd sort of way, it's actually fun and extremely interesting. We do things, at the citizen level, that very few others ever even have the opportunity to dream about. This whole president thing will be a huge learning experience for me. But, I think that this will be one of those lifetime things - in the next year, I'll learn tons and make friends and contacts that will last a lifetime.
8:16:47 PM 
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