Executive Director Pete Peterson has authored an article in the latest issue of California Special District Magazine. The article, which shares a title with the Davenport Institute’s public engagement training program, looks at changes taking place in local governance:

As the Internet makes public organization easier and governing institutions face growing distrust in the wake of scandals like those that wracked the City of Bell, local government leaders – from special districts to cities and counties – must become more intentional about how they include the public in policy-making.  As one California official quipped to me recently, “We either engage the public, or they’ll engage us . . . and I don’t mean that in a good way.”

You can read Peterson’s full article, “Public Engagement: The Vital Leadership Skill,” here (starting on page 18).