City Hall Roundup: The ForwardDallas 2.0 Public Engagement Success Story [Video]

 Voters spoke at the ballot box in November by demanding transparency and accountability from their elected officials, and there’s little doubt they’ll show up again in May when up to 10 sitting council members will be vying for another term at the horseshoe. 

Residents saw this year how their voices mattered. They showed up en masse at town halls, zoning hearings, and council meetings. Sometimes they wore matching T-shirts and posted iPhone videos to keep the dialogue rolling on social media. A few residents got so fed up with the current leadership that they’ve announced bids to challenge the incumbents in a May 3 election. 

And whether the zoning notification signs were properly posted or enough opportunities for feedback were solicited, public engagement happened in a big way, thanks to the residents who call Dallas home. 

I’ve been covering city government since the late 1990s in numerous municipalities in three different states. I’ve found that elected officials don’t respond …