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I spent 2 years running for our local zoning board before figuring out I was doing meetings completely backward | DIY Democracy - Free To Speak

jessej23•2mo ago

I spent 2 years running for our local zoning board before figuring out I was doing meetings completely backward

I kept trying to show up to town council meetings with all these data sheets and budget numbers, thinking that's how you win people over. Last month an old timer on the planning commission pulled me aside and said 'nobody cares about your spreadsheets, they just want to know if you'll fix the pothole on their street.' That hit me hard because I realized I was talking at people instead of listening first. Has anyone else had that moment where you found out the whole game is about neighborhood conversations, not formal presentations?

3 comments

3 Comments

shanef342mo ago

Oh man, that's the exact same thing I went through with our neighborhood association. I was printing out reports and budget projections for months before a retired teacher told me people just wanted to know if I could get the crosswalk repainted. It's wild how we overthink this stuff when really it's just about being a decent neighbor who actually listens.

phoenix_bailey2mo ago

Is it really that simple though? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for being a decent neighbor and listening, but sometimes people don't even know what they want until they see what's possible. You mentioned budget projections and reports - those aren't just busywork, they're the backbone of making sure the crosswalk actually gets painted and doesn't fall apart in a year. A retired teacher might not care about line item costs, but someone has to. I guess I just think there's a middle ground between overcomplicating things and pretending the hard stuff doesn't matter.

faith_shah882mo ago

Started nodding so hard reading this. I did the exact same thing with our little community garden group, spent weeks putting together a full plan with timelines and material costs, and then one lady just asked me if we could plant more sunflowers because they made her grandkids happy. All that work and I never even thought to just ask people what they actually wanted first. It's kind of humbling when you realize you were solving problems nobody had, right?