With a stated mission “to empower Edmonds neighbors, organizations and government to work together to solve problems in a genuinely collaborative, equitable and non-partisan manner,” a group of residents Thursday launched the Edmonds Civic Roundtable.
Organizers stressed that the group does not advocate for specific outcomes regardless of how individual members might feel. “We believe sound decisions will come from a sound decision making process,” said Tom Mesaros, a former Edmonds City Councilmember who is the newly elected board president.
“To earn the trust of the community, we must lead by example,” said Marina Udodik, assistant board secretary/treasurer. “We will use processes and make decisions inspired by our hopes rather than our fears. To do that, we welcome individuals and organizations to the table who represent the left, right and center. We need individuals and organizations that represent special interests. We encourage participation from every corner of Edmonds.”
Board member Karen Shiveley noted that “there are more than enough examples globally, nationally and regionally of how decision-making should not take place. We have seen what happens and felt the impact of a divisive process when leaders are unable and unwilling to face the challenges of working across their differences.
“We strive to rise above any existing policy body or individual. We believe that the people of Edmonds can and will do better than that. Please join us,” Shiveley said.
For more information or to join, go to www.edmondscivicroundtable.org.
Sounds great to me. I am interested in this group. Thank you.
Wow, this sounds very refreshing!
Sounds promising. If this group can help frame issues in a non-partisan way and keep a laser focus on good outcomes for Edmonds, it will be a great asset for our citizens.
I absolutely think this is a Godsend to Edmonds! I signed up for emails and will Join.
So did I. This is a new start. Look forward to meeting you all. Deb
I look forward to seeing how the ECR can bring more concerned residents together who are willing to find common ground and agreement on what’s best for Edmonds. It could be a real win!
Our city will greatly benefit from this organization’s efforts and wisdom. Thank you, Edmonds Civic Roundtable for dedicating your time, energy and expertise to Edmonds.
This sounds like a great effort by the Edmonds Roundtable. I’m looking forward to hearing and seeing more. Non- partisan, bringing folks together, finding common ground to enrich Edmonds is just what this city needs. Thank you.
If you are serious about this group you are starting bringing in all the voices and special interests in town to the round table, I’d like to suggest that you take a serious second look at the Districts that were laid out and then pretty much ignored in the city housing study. Perhaps you could have a spokesman recruited from each of the districts and maybe have one meeting per month somewhere in each district. The districts could be the “round table” you are talking about. For example, what might be a great zoning option for one area, might seem like a disaster to most of the people living in another area. Fifty or sixty people showing up at a council meeting from one distinct area might make a big difference in some of these government decisions. It’s obvious to me that hundreds of people in this town don’t feel like they have any real voice in what goes down in the end. Personally I think the whole government design here is flawed and the whole model needs to be looked at and perhaps revamped with less power going to the Executive branch where it seems to be concentrated.