Pitfalls, Drawbacks, Obstacles...

Town hall meetings are not a cure-all. 

They're not instant solutions, either. 

But they are a tremendous means to effecting a change in the relationship of engagement between residents and Councillors, but they're not without their share of challenges. 

1) Residents don't have the time. Well, first off, what I'm suggesting eventually is a town hall meeting in every ward every two months. Given how big wards are, surely an hour or two once a year isn't too much to ask a resident to consider. And if it is? Well, I'm not expecting everyone to have an interest in attending town halls, but honestly, if there's no desire to do something, if you're not either compelled to do it or it's just not part of your value system...then that's your choice. I'm just looking at providing more opportunities for creating a better local governance landscape.

2) Councillors don't have the time. I believe that Town halls would end up being an invaluable practice to put into effect. So, not to put too fine a point on it, Councillors would simply have to change the way they execute their duties, how they do their job. 

3) They'll turn into shouting matches. Not with an effective moderator, they won't. Setting the tone, ensuring conviviality, keeping things real. And I'm willing to bet that as town halls become habit, as the contact between Councillors and residents is sustained, the protective bulwarks fade away and the relationships get more enhanced, the issues from which 'shouting matches' result would be few and far between. 

4) Councillor time will be monopolized as a result. As I'm clearly not referring to 'once-a-weeks', this must be referring to people glomming onto the elected officials as a result of the contact. Well, Councillors need to be good at prioritizing. And deftly handling such ancillary contact. (I don't believe a Councillor's prime duty is to 'trouble-shoot'.) But I don't believe that 'more contact = more headaches'. The only person who says something like this is someone who's just not that good at dealing with relationships. (And if the elected official isn't...then maybe they should think about another career.)

5) There's no point in trying. Ah, yes: apathy. It's the twin to Hamilton's other 'ailment', its 'legacy malaise'. After all, it's not easy transitioning from what was...especially when trauma was involved...when it's not clear what will be. But I see a vast, unapped resource. A resource capable of initiating and bringing about massive, remarkable change. Effecting a grand 'what will be'. And that resource is us. 

Moreover, I'm not aware of any situation between humans that can't/doesn't/is guaranteed to improve if there's more contact made, if there's increased effort applied to improve communications...if the relationship of engagement increases. So in a way, it's a sure-thing. Of course, I'll understand if you invoke both apathy and our legacy-malaise... But I still hope you'll give it a try.