Latest news with #EngagedCalifornia
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mathews: A new tool helps Californians engage with their government
In this dark American moment, California has turned on a small democratic light. It's called Engaged California. It's an online, nonpartisan tool for Californians to deliberate with one another and engage their government. When you sign up with your email, pledge to behave with civility, and answer questions about your thoughts on the L.A. fires, it might feel like just another online survey. But it is a big deal. Because the U.S., and California, have done little to encourage deliberative democracy, especially online. Which means that Engaged California could launch a new era in which everyday people determine public policy themselves. Before I continue, I should disclose that, since last year, I've been an unpaid advisor to the Engaged California. My role was to join Zoom calls, ask questions, connect my fellow advisors and state workers designing the tool to world experts in digital and deliberative democracy. I confess that, even while advising the project, I didn't think it would ever be used by the public. I was pessimistic even though, as an advisor, I was working with very smart people at the Carnegie Endowment's California program and at the Berggruen Institute, where I'm a fellow in the Renovating Democracy program. My profound pessimism was based on two decades of personal failure. Since 2006, I've written columns and convened events to convince Californians to adopt the best democratic practices and innovations from around the world. Many of the tools I've encountered — from Tokyo to Munich — allow students to participate in, deliberate on, or directly decide difficult questions, often online. Such tools should have been popular here in California, which struggles with governance but is a global leader in digital commerce. But local and state governments ignored my suggestions. So, I concluded that Californians were too arrogant and contented to embrace novel democratic process. Last month, California proved me wrong — by debuting Engaged California. How did it happen? My fellow advisors (led by Audrey Tang of Taiwan) were brilliant. The state of the world's democracies created a sense of urgency. But the real revelations were the skill and determined of the staff of the state's Office of Data and Innovation. These state workers absorbed as much about deliberative democracy in six months as I managed in a decade of reporting. And they were patient as government higher-ups moved around deadlines, and changed the subject of the first deliberation in January, from social media rules for the young to the L.A. fires. The March launch of Engaged California was historic. California is the first state to make such a digital, deliberative tool available. It's also the largest jurisdiction in the world to do so. Engaged California is still a small pilot, but more than 7,000 people have signed up for it. I'm more hopeful for what might come next. Planning for the tool's future phases is still in its early stages. I'm hoping that Engaged California will be used to create small-group meetings or a full-scale citizens assembly, with Californians chosen by lot to deliberate on specific questions. Conceivably, such an assembly could produce recommendations that could be implemented, perhaps by regulation, law, or even ballot measure. There's no guarantee that these future phases will happen. And this project has another thorny challenge. Engaged California wouldn't be happening now without the support of Gov. Gavin Newsom — who wrote a book about such democratic models. But Engaged California won't survive as a project of one politician. For Engaged California to succeed, you and I will have to participate in it, give feedback, and urge that it develop in response to such input. Around the world, the democratic tools that last — like Madrid's CONSUL or Barcelona's Decidim — are monitored closely by everyday citizens. This little democratic light of ours will keep shining only if we overcome today's dark pessimism and embrace such democratic tools as our own. Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zócalo Public Square. This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Mathews: The new tool called Engaged California
USA Today
25-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
After wildfire devastation, California seeks public input with new program
After wildfire devastation, California seeks public input with new program Show Caption Hide Caption Los Angeles fire officials fielded questions, concerns in town hall Emotions ran high inside a packed theater in Malibu, California, as Palisades Fire victims had a chance to press officials. On the heels of the devastating fires in Los Angeles County last month, California is unveiling a new digital town hall that will initially address recovery efforts before expanding into other major issues. The platform, known as Engaged California, is meant to give residents a forum to interact with each other about policy priorities and to directly reach government officials to pursue action on them. Gov. Gavin Newsom is hailing the pilot program as a venue for Californians to 'share their perspectives, concerns, and ideas geared toward finding real solutions.'' Modeled after Taiwan's digital democracy, the initiative seeks public participation and is currently focused on helping those affected by the January fires. 'The platform is the intersection between technology, democracy, and state government,'' said a statement announcing the new program. 'The end goal is to encourage more discussions as a new way to find common ground, a process known internationally as deliberative democracy.'' Here's what to know about Engaged California: Why is California doing this? The widespread impact of the fires, which displaced tens of thousands of people in an area with a severe shortage of affordable housing, created an extraordinary need for government services. From shelter to health care to filing insurance claims, residents haven been clamoring for help. The Newsom administration had been working on a plan for enhanced public engagement for two years. The crisis presented by the fires made it even more urgent to have such a tool. How will it work? The state says it wants to hear what residents think about 'pressing issues,'' so this probably won't be the forum to complain about potholes. The Engaged California website asks members of the public to opt in to a topic via e-mail, and once invited, they're encouraged to offer their thoughts. That input, Newsom's office said, will help determine new government services and policies. The first subjects for discussion are the two major L.A. blazes that erupted Jan. 7, the Palisades and Eaton fires, but respondents can also check a box for future topics. 'We're using an online platform to let you and other Californians have a voice in government. This helps us shape policy – together,'' the site says. Is this any different from a social media site? Organizers hope so, given the level of discourse on platforms like X. A certain number of snarky comments are expected, but officials hope a consensus of valuable public opinions will emerge and help guide policymaking. Academic institutions like Stanford, Harvard and UC-Berkeley, along with the American Public Trust, the Berggruen Institute and the San Francisco Foundation, were involved in developing the initiative. 'The launch of this program and our first deliberation will help us hear from the people we serve,' said Jeffery Marino, director of the California Office of Data and Innovation. How damaging were the fires? The firestorm that engulfed parts of the nation's most populous county – most directly the communities of Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Altadena and Pasadena – caused 29 confirmed deaths and destroyed more than 16,200 structures. The UCLA Anderson School of Management estimated the property and capital losses at between $95 billion and $164 billion, with an additional $4.6 billion in diminished gross domestic product for L.A. County in 2025. Newsom, who has said the fires may go down as the costliest natural disaster the nation has ever seen, requested almost $40 billion in recovery funds from the federal government. The Trump administration has indicated it may impose conditions on any future aid.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Newsom launching ‘town hall for the modern era' that will begin with wildfire recovery efforts
California is launching a program to help community members directly influence and inform the ongoing Los Angeles area wildfire rebuilding and recovery. Engaged California is an initiative that will bring Californians together to engage, interact and share ideas that can help shape government services and collectively create policy solutions. 'With this new initiative, the state will lead the nation in deliberative democracy, better ensuring decisions are centered on the people's voices,' the governor's office said in a statement issued Sunday. 'As part of California's all-in response to the firestorm, this pilot program is being launched now for survivors and the greater Los Angeles community.' Former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief makes first public comments since firing According to Newsom's office, the program is modeled after successful digital democracy efforts in Taiwan, where digital tools were used to help increase consensus-building and build governance powered by the people. It is described by officials as 'different from a poll or town hall and not designed to mimic social media.' Instead, the platform will sit at the 'intersection between technology, democracy and state government' to encourage more discussions as a new way to find common ground; this process is known as 'deliberative democracy.' Possible gang-related shooting in quiet Orange County community leads to multi-city pursuit, 4 arrests 'After years of development, I am excited to launch this new pilot program to help create a town hall for the modern era where Californians share their perspectives, concerns and ideas geared toward finding real solutions,' Gov. Newsom said. 'We're starting this effort by more directly involving Californians in the L.A. firestorm response and recovery.' Read more about Engaged California here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
23-02-2025
- Business
- CBS News
California will launch the "first-in-the-nation" digital democracy effort to help improve public engagement, Gov. Newsom says
California will launch the "first-in-the-nation" digital democracy program to help support community conversations and promote public engagement on important topics, California Gov. Gavin Newsom says. Newsom announced the new program, Engaged California, will use digital platforms to inform the public about important issues that will ultimately help inform policy decisions and program design. "With this new initiative, the state will lead the nation in deliberative democracy, better ensuring decisions are centered on the people's voices," a statement from the governor said. As part of the state's commitment to helping Los Angeles rebuild following the deadly wildfires, the pilot program is being launched now for survivors and the greater LA area. "We're starting this effort by more directly involving Californians in the LA firestorm response and recovery. As we recover, reimagine, and rebuild Los Angeles, we will do it together," Newsom said. How will the Engaged California program work? The program is modeled after successful digital democracy efforts in Taiwan, Newsom's office said. It will focus on digital tools to help increase consensus-building and ultimately get Californians engaged. Breakdown of how Engaged California will work: Californians are invited to engage, interact and share ideas to help shape government services The state gathers public input and ideas New government services and policies are created based on public input Engaged California will encourage people to voice their concerns and ideas. The program also wants to improve policymakers' and administrators' efforts to be more responsive to the public's concerns, outside of election cycles. "The launch of this program and our first deliberation will help us hear from the people we serve," said California Office of Data and Innovation Director Jeffery Marino. "Far from just a technical tool, this is an innovative approach to foster greater collaboration and co-creation between the people of California and their government."
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Newsom launches new digital democracy tool with initial focus on wildfire victims
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday announced a new digital democracy initiative that will attempt to connect residents directly with government officials in times of disaster and allow them to express their concerns about matters affecting their day-to-day lives. The web-based initiative, called Engaged California, will go live with a focus on aiding victims of the deadly wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena who are struggling to recover. For example, comments shared via the online forum could potentially prompt government action regarding insurance coverage, building standards or efforts to require utilities to bury power lines underground. In a written statement, Newsom described the pilot program as "a town hall for the modern era — where Californians share their perspectives, concerns, and ideas geared toward finding real solutions." "We're starting this effort by more directly involving Californians in the LA firestorm response and recovery," he added. "As we recover, reimagine, and rebuild Los Angeles, we will do it together.' Read more: L.A. wildfire resource guide: How to stay safe, what to do and how to help The Democrat's administration has ambitious plans for the effort that go far beyond the wildfires. Engaged California is modeled after a program in Taiwan that became an essential bridge between the public and the government at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Taiwanese government has relied on it to combat online political disinformation as well. An email address is all Californians will need to sign into the state's digital platform to share their ideas and to see the results of that collective action. It will use artificial intelligence to sift through comments and prioritize responses by state officials. "My hope is that people will see in this an opportunity to give real-time, honest input to the state of California, to deliberate with each other about some hard and important issues like how to speed the recovery and make it effective, to do that in a way that is not going to be too burdensome or difficult for them," said Amy Tong, secretary of the California Government Operations Agency. Read more: Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes AI safety bill opposed by Silicon Valley The digital initiative is a public-private partnership that includes nearly a dozen academic and nonprofit organizations. The software platform and other digital tools for the effort cost the state approximately $120,000, said Roy Kennedy, a spokesperson for the agency. On the website, Californians will be able to see an aggregation of public comments that are stripped of personal information that might identify the residents who participate, Tong said. The results will then by analyzed by agency staff members, who will recommend government responses. Engaged California is designed to be more accessible for residents than traditional avenues for influencing government, such as testifying before city councils, writing letters or emailing legislators, said Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, one of the program's partners. The platform should produce "an authentic set of insights that are partly about bridging divides between people who are out there in the community who participate, but also about uncovering ideas and insights that the government might not always be able to get," said Cuéllar, a former justice of the California Supreme Court. "The goal is not just to post things that people submit. It's to foster a conversation." Read more: Careful not to stifle innovation, Newsom hesitates on major tech bills This isn't Newsom's first foray into technology. As a supervisor and then mayor of San Francisco, Newsom lived through the tech boom of the 1990s and early 2000s and established strong political ties to industry leaders in Silicon Valley and beyond. His 2013 book, "Citizenville: How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government," surveyed tech titans about how data could be better used to make government decisions. As governor, Newsom has had the difficult task of trying to preserve California's position as the vanguard of technology while shielding children and the rest of society from the harms of social media, artificial intelligence and online disinformation. While attending an AI conference in San Francisco last year, Newsom described his philosophy on the interplay between government and technoloy firms during a talk with Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff, the godfather of the governor's oldest child. "I want to maintain our dominance. I want to maintain our innovation," Newsom said. "At the same time, you feel a deep sense of responsibility to address some of those more extreme concerns that I think many of us have — even the biggest and strongest promoters of this technology have — and that's a difficult place to land." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
