Newsletter - November 2025

I frequently refer to Thanksgiving as the holiday that lets us look at the glass as half-full.

In that spirit, I can say that I am very thankful that the government has reopened!

I truly am thankful for all that I have, including friends and family, and all that I have learned through my journey with Speak Up for Good Government. My eight good government principles continue to serve as a North Star that guides my work.

Braver Angels is going beyond talk to translate their proven approach to civil discourse into action through Citizen-Led-Solutions, a program that empowers citizens to forge common-ground solutions to sovle local problems, and through their Citizens Commission on Immigration.

Building on the success of their Trustworthy Elections Campaign, Braver Angels hopes to hold immigration events throughout the country, with particular priority given to Congressional districts represented by members of the Problem Solvers Caucus.

Following our Northeast Ohio "Experiment in Democracy" in August, we are looking to leverage the Voice of the People/Braver Angels partnership to support a Citizens Commission on Immigration event in Northeast Ohio during the first half of next year. More details to follow...

In less rosy news: the gerrymandering "race-to-the bottom" by both parties is repugnant and does not serve the interests of our country. The Constitution basically specifies that from a numerical perspective everyone should have equal representation. For example, the state of Ohio has 12 million people and 15 congressional seats, so every Congressional representative from the state of Ohio should serve a district of approximately 800,000 people.

Constitutional references: Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution, Annotated explanation of Article 1, Section 2

Simply put, Congressional districts should be party blind and color blind. The process of gerrymandering tries to promote specific outcomes, favor individual parties or special interests, by drawing district boundaries to pre-determine election outcomes. I believe that districts and representatives that represent cities, counties, and/or regions provides the most representative and effective democracy.

I have begun working with ChatGPT to see what party blind and color blind maps would look like. Here is a preliminary side-by-side comparison of the recently approved Ohio legislative map vs. a map generated by ChatGPT. It is important to note that considerable work is needed to fully evaluate this concept.

I'm wishing you and your family a safe and very happy Thanksgiving.

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Newsletter - October 2025

Vacation and the Jewish High Holidays offered me a chance at reflection.

There is so much to be stressed and upset about. The government shutdown is at the top of the list for me. Nothing epitomizes the dysfunction of our government than when our leaders can't have enough respect for each other and for the American people to keep our government running!

One theme I have thought a lot about recently is the many ways that conflict and polarization are rewarded and promoted by our institutions.

Social media makes money through "clicks". Social media posts that trigger emotions tend to generate the most clicks.

News media generates revenue through increased viewership; controversial and divisive headlines by the news media are designed to attract attention and drive viewership.

Most of the campaign related communication we receive from politicians and political parties demonize the opposition and are designed to motivate voters through anger and fear.

Regardless of what state you live in and what political party you support, 40% of the people support different candidates than you do! The vast majority of those people are decent individuals that want the same things from life as you do!

Bottom line, institutions try to trigger our emotions and divide us, causing strained relations and preventing us from having constructive relationships with nearly half of the population!

As I reflect on how I can be a better person, I resolve to resist the temptation to label someone as evil or unintelligent based on the candidates or political party they support. I will remain engaged on social media but will resist the temptation to respond to people who vent or post toxic content. I will try to check the accuracy of controversial information rather than unnecessarily jumping to conclusions.

Angst and tribalism are too often ruling the day and preventing us from working together as Americans to make life better and solve the difficult problems that we all face.

I am continuing to work with Voice of the People and Braver Angels on our participatory democracy pilot and have begun cursory analysis on an objective and non-partisan approach to the decennial apportionment process for the House of Representatives (i.e. redistricting and gerrymandering).

Stay tuned for more info on both items in my next newsletter.

Have a great month and a happy Halloween!

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Newsletter - August/September 2025

In my last newsletter I provided details about my work with Voice of the People and Braver Angels to pilot a framework for constructive engagement with our elected officials.

As I mentioned last month, a statistically representative group of voters in Northeast Ohio was provided background information on current spending and taxation levels, with arguments for and against a number of proposals. Leveraging the Braver Angels approach to civil discourse, the results of that survey were shared at a Braver Angels Northeast Ohio Alliance meeting on August 27.

Twenty-five Ohio residents attended the event. And a staff member from the office of Rep. Max Miller (OH-7) attended to listen to the Ohio residents. Attendees were pleasantly surprised at the level of bipartisan agreement on tax and spending recommendations. They found this approach to public consultation refreshing and felt that going through the policymaking simulation was very enlightening.

“As opposed to the original town hall model that often fails, this model is a beautiful example of a non-inflammatory way of bringing together people to discuss and advocate for real policy solutions,” voiced an attendee in the closing segment of the event.

The full survey findings and results of the in-person forum can be found here: vop.org/NEOhio

Over the next couple of months, we will be leveraging lessons learned from the event to expand this pilot to other congressional districts and other Braver Angels' local alliances. Other groups such as the Grand Bargain Project are launching similar efforts to engage citizens, with the objective of overcoming partisan gridlock and providing elected officials the cover they need to support bipartisan solutions to the difficult problems facing our country.

The exact approach to this type of constructive engagement will likely vary by Congressional district, and the prospect of success is uncertain at best. However, events like the one we just completed in Northeast Ohio provide me with hope that people are tired of partisan polarization and want a government that works for all of us.

I am about to embark on a much-needed vacation. Stay tuned for my next Speak for Good Government newsletter in October.

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