5 Habits of Good Government
Habit #1: It’s equal parts head and heart.
The Select Board bears responsibility for the Town’s fiscal health. Budgets must balance. Taxpayers are owed a dollar’s worth of services for a dollar’s worth of spending. And bond rating agencies must be satisfied, or the Town could pay the price -- literally millions in added costs of financing debt.
But.
It is equally true that the Select Board is responsible for Brookline’s community health. Needs change over time. Hearts must be open to first-time demands that strain our ability to level-fund existing services. Good government requires saying “no” as well as “yes.” Both answers require leading from the heart as well as the head.
Habit #2. Without compromise, there is no democracy.
Last week I wrote about the necessity to govern with both head and heart.
This week, I’m inspired by an interview featured on NPR. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware are behind a bipartisan initiative to invest $1 billion in civics and history education. Excerpts from the interview:
“COONS: If we don't train young people in civics and how to participate, then we can't be that surprised when our political discourse breaks down… Civics education has fallen off in part because of disagreements over what should be taught. But I don't think we can avoid the necessity, the urgency, of helping a younger generation learn the basics of how our government works and why compromise is essential.
“CORNYN: I think frequently what people are asked to do is to pick a side. You know, what's your narrative? You know, somebody once told me in Washington, D.C., the person that has the best narrative wins. And that's not about critical thinking. That's not about respecting different points of view and trying to find common ground.
“COONS: We had more people vote in the 2020 presidential election. But a lot of it has been very contentious. And so in some ways, although we are participating more, we are more sharply divided than we've been at any point in my life. And the point of democracy is to both participate and make progress.”
Habit #3. Respect Boundaries.
In school, we're taught that there are 3 branches of government: Executive, Legislative and Judicial.
In our own local government, the Executive is the Select Board. The legislative is the Town Meeting. As for the Judicial -- well, there's the Attorney General and the court system, especially the State courts, which have the final say on questions of whether Brookline's actions conform to statute and our own bylaws.
The balancing act of these three branches is known as the "separation of powers."
This is why I took exception last year when Town Meeting debated a proposed by-law that would have dictated a settlement in a court case against the Town. By overstepping the authority of both the courts and the Select Board, Town Meeting was crossing two boundaries at once.
Habit #4. Go deep.
I have great respect for David Lescohier, formerly of the Advisory Committee. This week, in a note to our fellow Town Meeting Members, he wrote this:
"Progressive leadership looks deeper, further, and longer. Progressive leadership finds and implements solutions, looking beyond a safe comfort zone."
Substitute "Good Government" for the phrase "Progressive leadership"-and that's this week's essay.
David was writing in favor of a more concerted effort to add to Brookline's affordable housing. He and I agree on Question 2 on the ballot. A "Yes" vote is outside the comfort zorne in that it asks voters to accept a 1% increase in property taxes. But the benefits will be significantly greater than the pain.
YES on Question 2 is progressive AND good government.
Habit #5. Communicate, communicate, communicate
In a democracy, we are customers of the government. As such, we expect it to be user-friendly AND responsive. It can't be either if it fails the test of communication.
Advice to those who govern: On a regular basis, ask yourself,
What did I get done today" And then ask yourself, "What did I communicate?" If you didn't communicate, how will anyone know what you did?
Closing thought from George Bernard Shaw "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place"