You might have seen the opinion piece I wrote in The Cary News (9/19/07), where I talked about Cary’s “Old Guard” - the movers and shakers who have selected the leaders and run Cary’s political scene for decades. I acknowledged the vision that they realized in Cary’s formative years – it was strategic and couldn’t have come out better. Here’s what they did: They set out to attract a specific demographic – those who are affluent, well-educated and highly-intelligent. They recognized Cary’s geographic proximity to RTP was an asset, and set their sights high: As it was once told to me, they set out not just to attract those who worked in RTP; they wanted the top echelon – the executives – to make Cary their home. They were wildly successful. Some of their secrets to success? They became fiercely independent from their neighbors in Raleigh, they set high standards for development, and – this was key – they fostered close ties with developers and builders who would come in with top quality and do things their way.

It worked.

There was just one problem: In setting this course, they didn’t think about how things might change when this affluent, well-educated and highly-intelligent populace became engaged in their own government. Perhaps they didn’t think they would become engaged at all. One thing is for sure, it is much easier to maintain control when the population is 20,000 than when it exceeds 120,000 – and keeps growing.

For two terms on the Council - eight years, I’ve been learning first-hand the talents that Cary citizens have, to offer their government. What I see is a tremendous resource that has largely been ignored. I refer to it as our “Brain Trust”, our intellectual capital.

Think about it . . . with our high-tech, biotech, environmental, governmental and university-based work force, we have thousands of citizens who spend every working day solving problems. They are really good thinkers. They are highly process-oriented. They are entrepreneurial. They set high standards for their work. They are drivers who search for excellence. They are accomplished, in their own right. They don’t take “no” for an answer.

At home, they love their neighborhoods. They take pride in their homes – they worked to earn them and their homes are their castles and also their investments. They will do “whatever it takes” to provide the best for their children. They are concerned about safety. They embrace the environment and nature. They have active lives and enjoy socializing with their neighbors.

They bring those same talents and values when they approach Town government.

Here’s what they do: They research. They apply technology. They study and they ask hard questions. They hire their own experts. They present their cases to the Council in spiral-bound Powerpoint presentations, complete with charts and graphs. They logic their way through problems and they don’t accept answers from anyone, if the answers don’t make sense.

I’ll be the first to tell you, as a Town Council member, this presents a challenge. And it requires thinking differently about the roles of citizens and leaders.

Today, Cary citizens are telling us that our development and land use plans aren’t working. They’re telling us they don’t want the higher densities that are allowed in our mixed use activity centers. They don’t want hundreds of apartment units clumped together. They don’t want intersections that are so wide you can’t cross on foot with your toddler or a stroller. They don’t want to fight traffic, just to get out of their neighborhoods. They don’t want stormwater runoff and mass grading. They want trees, parks and playgrounds. They want good schools, close to their neighborhoods.

That’s a pretty tall order.

But, do you know what else they want? They want to be engaged. They want to be invited to the table as stakeholders. They want to be treated fairly and with respect. They want development review processes that give them a chance to apply their problem-solving skills to get to a solution that doesn’t harm their quality of life. They don’t want to be spoon-fed, patronized or, worst of all, ignored. They want to know that the playing field is level; that the deck isn’t stacked in the favor of developers. And they are willing to apply their skills and talents to find the best way to make it so. Remember: they value their time, so don’t waste it.

So, how do we effectively engage this Brain Trust? Here are some ideas:

Let’s start with two “what ifs” . . .

What if the Town Council decided to select members of its boards, commissions and task forces based on their interest, experience and the talents they offer, through a selection process that was fair and balanced – instead of the current process that stacks the deck with special interests and political favors?

And, what if the Town Council REALLY wanted its boards, commissions and task forces to be highly-effective generators of new ideas and solutions, giving its members free rein to bring forward recommended policy changes?

Pretty radical, huh? It could happen.

If we wanted to see these things happen and find new ways to engage our citizens, we will need to make some changes to work with this particular group I call the Brain Trust. Here’s my laundry list . . .

• Invite citizens to help us tackle broad policy issues.
• Encourage more than feedback – ask for solutions.
• Minimize time required by maximizing the use of technology.
• Make in-depth background information readily available.
• Make clear the parameters, such as limits placed on municipal authority by state law.
• Use Task Forces that meet intensely, but for a limited amount of time.
• Use facilitators as much as you use consultants.
• Ask citizens to recommend experts to bring to the discussion – they just might be their neighbors.
• Welcome healthy, respectful debate.
• Accept criticism, and learn from it.
• Provide a framework of questions to be answered and problems to be solved, then stand back and let them brainstorm, prioritize and develop solutions.
• Include Council members in the task forces, to work alongside citizens.
• Don’t shut out the development, real estate and business interests – include them – they are stakeholders, too.

What we’re really talking about here is changing from a culture of control to one of openness and innovation. It’s a very big change, but it is critical to creating and realizing a new vision for Cary.

Let’s say we commit to engage the Brain Trust and be open to the solutions they propose. Here are a few of the issues we should take to them:

• Review the development process, finding ways to better engage the public and provide a greater sense of fairness.
• Is there a better way to plan for “infill development”? – How about this: Could we use Citizen Advisory Councils to meet with developers, property owners and Town Staff to identify desirable development plans before proposals are submitted?
• Cary has been a leader in water conservation, recycling, open space and preservation of streambed buffers, but is that ALL we can do to protect our environment? What about air quality, green buildings and low-impact development strategies? Does our overall environmental policy need shoring-up?
• Does our economic development strategy adequately recognize the “knowledge industry” – Do we understand what they need to flourish?
• If we don’t want concentrations of apartments, how will we plan for work force housing? Where will our retail and service workers live? How will we accommodate them? Is there a different model for multi-family that we should consider?
• What is the role of our Mayor and Council with regard to schools? Should we admit that we increase the demand for school seats when we approve new residential development? Then, how do we address it? How can we consider limited school capacity as a factor in reviewing development proposals?
• Since the 1970’s, Cary citizens have been represented by a Council consisting of the Mayor and six members, including four district reps. Considering our population growth, is it time to expand the number of districts and, if so, how?

Utilizing Cary’s Brain Trust will call for a new style of leadership, one that welcomes the contributions that citizens can make, leadership that admits it doesn’t have the answers, but engages citizens to create the vision and find the solutions.

Here are eight skills and abilities I think we should look for, if we want leaders who can effectively manage this level of change . . . along with a few comments for our candidates to consider:

1. Groundedness – This is the ability to know who you are and what you stand for and to stay true to yourself, regardless of the pressures from constituents and special interests. My personal version of this is: “Once you start making decisions based on whether you’ll get re-elected, you are lost.”
2. Openness – A word to the wise – this is not something you can fake. People know.
3. Empathy – Can you put yourself in the other person’s shoes and understand what they are saying, from their perspective? You’ll be suprised how enlightening it can be.
4. Active Listening – Here’s one of my favorite quotes – from Alistair Farrugia - “Freedom is when the people can speak; Democracy is when the government listens. “
5. We need leaders with Drive – Don’t just seek solutions, seek the best ones.
6. Intelligence – With a populace this smart, you’ll need every ounce of brainpower, just to keep up.
7. Risk-taking – It’s a little scary, releasing control to the people and encouraging them to brainstorm solutions. Take the risk – it’s worth it.
8. Collaboration – This is not the same as coalition building. Instead, it might be thought of as a combination of openness and consensus-building. No matter how you think of it, it will only make you stronger and more effective.

My final words to you are this: If any of this makes sense to you at all, and you find candidates here, or in your own municipality, that have these traits, SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ELECT THEM.

Vote for them – yes. But do one more thing. Tonight, write a check to the candidate’s campaign. Even if you’ve never done it before, do it now. Don’t be embarrassed if the amount you can write is small.
Campaigns need money, and if you want to keep your candidates from the temptation of special interest control, then reward them with your dollars of support. While you’re at it, write a second check – to WakeUp, for the great work that they do.

With that, I’ll wish you Happy Election Season and close with my favorite political quote of all:

From Gunter Grass: “The job of a citizen is to keep his mouth open.”