| From the Port Townsend Jefferson County Leader - January 12, 2000 © Port Townsend Leader |
By Janet Huck
Leader Staff Writer
Consultant Jim Rough of Port Townsend believes present governmental systems have deteriorated into a battlefield among special interest groups. One special interest group comes into power, he said, and then the pendulum swings, bringing the people out of power once again into power.
"The last time 'we the people' existed was at the constitutional convention," declared Rough.
Rough, a business consultant who has helped scores of groups, individuals and organizations transform, decided there must be a better way. So he created the Wisdom Council, a group of eight to 24 randomly selected citizens, to act as a microcosm and a voice for the larger population. These citizens would meet with a facilitator for a weekend to draw up a consensus statement on vitally important societal questions within a community - from abortion to growth to drug use. The council could work on a local, state or national level.
Once the Wisdom Council made a statement to its community, it would disband. But every six months a new, randomly selected council would be convened. "Over time, we would have a conversation about what we want to achieve as a community," explained Rough, who is writing a book about the Wisdom Council titled Society's Breakthrough: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All People.
"The City Council has no requirement to act on anything," said Rough. "There is no coercion. But as the Wisdom Councils build consensus, I think the City Council would want to listen to the will of the people."
Dialogue
Eugene, Ore., and a community in Arizona are exploring the concept, and Port Townsend has already planned a trial run. Last week, Councilmember Allen Frank made a motion to endorse a one-time session that would be broadcast live Jan. 21 on PTTV, cable Channel 42. Frank's motion passed 6-1. Eight randomly selected Port Townsend residents will meet for two hours. Frank suggested that the group discuss a possible city ban on chain stores, which is the topic of a petition protesting the arrival of Hollywood Video.
The City Council also gave Rough 75 minutes to report back on the results of the discussion at a February council study session.
"At the City Council, we hear the activists on both sides of an issue, but it's difficult to get to the core of what the people of Port Townsend really want," said Frank. "I'm really excited about seeing a random group of people dialogue about an important issue. I believe in capturing the collective wisdom of the people."
Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag, who appeared on one of Rough's PTTV programs, was impressed with the Wisdom Council concept. "The model could work, and the ideas are fairly impressive," he said on camera.
But there are some skeptics. "I question the wisdom of the Wisdom Council," said Port Townsend Mayor Forrest Rambo at last week's City Council meeting. Rambo also questioned how any group of eight people could truly represent the community.
Work in progress
Even supporters wondered how the selection process could insure the eight to 24 people would be randomly chosen. Rough plans to select the people with a computer program that would randomly chose phone numbers. However, each person still has to agree to appear on the PTTV program, so the person would be, in effect, selecting her or himself.
"It may take a couple of times before people aren't afraid of doing it," conceded Frank.
Other critics worry about the role of the facilitator, who could lead the Wisdom Council into espousing his or her own position on an issue. Rough, who will facilitate the Jan. 21 session, said he has devised a new way to facilitate a meeting that would only influence the process, not the content. He hopes the Jan. 21 PTTV session will help people understand how the facilitator works.
Frank said didn't expect the Wisdom Council to function perfectly the first time. "It's a work in progress," he said. "It's not set in stone." He himself plans to question Rough on random selection and the influence of a facilitator.
Others questioned how the council can come to a unanimous and meaningful consensus. "If some people have a burning issue, how would the Wisdom Council be able to find a consensus without weeding out people's concerns?" asked Toni Vincent, a Port Townsend resident who appeared on a PTTV show about the Wisdom Council last month. Her fellow participant, Dick Shipman, asked Rough: "If the consensus statements are all about high taxation and racism, what good are they?"
Acknowledging
Indeed, when one of Rough's early Wisdom Council prototypes was discussing abortion, the participants finally came to the conclusion that every child should be born into a loving family. But they were unable then to proceed toward enacting the laudable but possibly too lofty ideal.
Rough was undaunted. "The conversation should be about developing the people's wisdom about an issue, instead of specific solutions," explained Rough. "But maybe as a result of the statement, one parent would teach a parenting class. Maybe another parent takes a parenting class."
However, in Rough's work with corporations, their consensus statements often created long-range impacts. In one case, the employees and managers in the steam plant at a paper mill met to determine their key issue, wrote Rough in a book about community building. At first, they listed nebulous issues like the need for better cleanup procedures, more training and improved communication between the operators and the maintenance department.
"As the issues were categorized, it became clear to them that there was one overriding problem that everyone was afraid to mention," wrote Rough. "It was the ash that hung in the air at the plant."
The mill had a competitive advantage because it was running at twice its designed capacity, and the ash was the inevitable result.
"They believed that nothing could be done without a major investment, because the engineers had been studying the problem for years," wrote Rough. "Management and the employees had tangled before over the issue."
But the consensus statement to the rest of the mill sparked a new resolve to tackle the problem again. "It wasn't long before two people invented a patentable device that solved the problem," wrote Rough. "Just acknowledging and facing critical issues with creativity has a powerful impact on an organization."
(© Port Townsend Jefferson County Leader - January 12, 2000)