Town Halls: Real Democracy or Advocacy Central?

Thomas Jefferson called them the "wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect exercise of self-government." He was talking about town hall meetings, which can rise to the potential of that early ideal of citizen engagement and participation, but can also devolve into a less likely forum for listening, bridging interests and developing solutions. Given the serious issues we face as a nation, we'd like to remind citizens of the tools of public engagement: a nonpartisan way to work through public policy trade-offs and tough choices. To learn more, see our commentary by Ruth A. Wooden and Andrew L. Yarrow, which first appeared in the Baltimore Sun.