A Third Way
Yesterday, I sent this email to the members of Carrboro Town Council in advance of their organizational meeting, during which our newly-sworn-in council resolved the question of what process to use to fill the seat vacated by then-Councilperson, now-Mayor Barbara Foushee.
I share it here today to make a few points about public policy advocacy as I put this out into the world on my own platform (it’s already out there as part of the public record, along with emails from many other residents with things to say about the options that were on the table).
But first, the email, which I sent out under the subject line A Third Way to Fill a Vacant Seat:
Dear Mayor-Elect Foushee & Members of our soon-to-be-sworn in Town Council - and our outgoing elected officials: Damon Seils, Susan Romaine, and Sammy Slade,
First, I want to extend a huge thank you to every one of you for your commitment to our town and your willingness to serve - and an especially big thank you to Damon, Susan & Sammy as your terms come to an end. I'm so very appreciative of all you've done for Carrboro.
Second, and importantly, I want to share my perspective on the big decision facing our NEW council tonight: How to fill the vacant seat resulting from Councilmember Foushee's election as our new mayor.
Looking at the packet for tonight's meeting, it appears that the main options under consideration are either (1) holding a special election during the March primary, or (2) making an appointment.
I'm writing to urge you to go with a third option: holding a special election in November and leaving the seat vacant until then.
First and foremost, I believe democracy works best when voters have an opportunity to participate in an election process that allows them to get to know candidates through conversations on doorsteps, through candidate forums, through meet & greet events and the like. When North Carolina held our primary in May, that could happen for a special election during a primary - but with early voting starting on February 15th for our March primary, and the holiday season upon us, that seems impossible to do on such a tight timeline. Instead, we'd be left with an election cycle in which those with the most time and money have an even greater advantage than is already the case in regular elections. That's plutocracy, not democracy.
Yet while I consider a special election in March untenable, I still deeply believe in letting voters make direct decisions about who serves us in office, rather than have council make an appointment. I know that Carrboro is an outlier in this respect - but, as in many other instances, I think Carrboro has been getting it right by holding special elections to fill vacancies. I realize the change in the primary calendar makes this a different case than past special elections - but that should not negate the underlying premises and principles behind letting voters decide rather than making an appointment.
I have heard some of you say, both in the past and recently, that it's important to have seven people around the table, and I see those points. And, if it comes to it, I have 100% confidence in this elected body to make a good choice for filling this vacancy. But in this moment in our town and in our nation, it feels of paramount importance for elected officials to do everything in their power to promote participatory democracy.
At the end of the day, a special election in November feels like the most fair method through which to fill this seat. And I'm not just talking about optics - although I think those matter. In many ways, this November is the optimal time to have a special election - not just because there'll be more time for voters to be able to make a choice informed by community conversations, not just candidate mailers and websites, but also because general election turnout will be higher. (While I don't think this should be a factor in deciding when and how to fill the seat, I also think having this special election during the general election may well give voters who are disillusioned and uninspired by candidates higher up the ticket a reason to turn out for the general election in November.)
I realize that I am, in effect, asking you all to make your jobs harder between now and then. I get it if you'd rather have seven people around the table than six. But I'm asking you to do this anyway, because in the grand scheme, it feels better for democracy.
As always, I appreciate you considering my perspectives - thank you.
Lisa Hazirjian
I promised a few comments about public policy advocacy; here they are:
We frequently slip into the trap of behaving as if the only advocacy options are to support or oppose a specific proposal as is. Yet there’s a third way to go about entering into a policy debate: seeking a better solution than the ones that are dominating public discourse.
The best policy makers welcome the opportunity to have substantive discussions with constituents about the questions facing their community, recognizing that such dialogue carries the benefit of helping us to see issues from multiple perspectives and to come up with better solutions. And we have some of the very best here in Carrboro!
The best policy advocates recognize the value of conversation with policy makers in helping them to find their own positions and figure out how best to articulate them in writing. Case in point: Before writing this email, I reached out by phone to current and incoming members of council to share my concerns about the two main options being discussed and engage them as thought partners in imagining an alternative. Those conversations helped me to understand the range of legally permissible options, to find my way to the solution I ultimately recommended, and to find the words with which to explain my reasoning.
You may be wondering: what happened?
In the end, town council voted unanimously to hold a special election in November to fill this vacancy. Let me dispel any illusions here: my conversations with them and my letter to them were NOT *the* reason they landed where they did. Rather, I had the honor of playing a small role in their much larger deliberations, ones that included many more voices than mine.
P.S. A reader made a great suggestions (thanks, Heidi!): You can thank Carrboro Town Council (or email them about anything) by writing to council@carrboronc.gov