And now: A special report from the Department of Really Bad Ideas. And this one is a doozie.
It comes from Hizzoner Eric Adams, the present mayor of New York City. Like mayors everywhere, Adams is routinely expected to respond to city council members, state reps, members of Congress, and other elected officials who ask for help on city issues and problems affecting the people they represent. After all, that’s how it’s supposed to work – local folks have an issue needing city attention, so they go to officials in their local community who can carry this issue to the top level. Most of these matters are resolved by – hello – relevant officials simply having a phone call, a quick meeting, or even an email exchange.
But no – the Big Apple’s mayor has decreed that elected officials needing to discuss concerns of their constituents may NOT speak directly to him. Nor may they simply speak with his staff, meet with, or engage with agency heads, or other mayoral personnel who could help the people. Rather, Adams has decreed that supplicants wanting to approach the city’s public servants must submit a seven-page, online “engagement request.” The mayor’s intergovernmental office will review each one, then decide whether to grant or deny any official engagement.
An Adams gatekeeper hailed this bureaucratic intake process as a “new and exciting tool” to “impose operational efficiency and streamline requests.” Golly – even George Orwell couldn’t have conjured up a statement as soul-sucking as that!
Streamlined efficiency is the ultimate virtue for automatons and authoritarian regimes – NOT for public officials in a democratic society. Democracy is necessarily slower-paced, deliberative, and inclusive. And it does not require – or accept – filling out a seven-page form to “engage” with your mayor.
The Big Apple’s Mayor Takes a Big Bite Out of Democracy