Mayor's Message

MAYOR’S MESSAGE

By Mayor Laura Weinberg

Expanding Opportunities for Community Engagement

Irecently participated in a robust conversation about the difference between hearing and listening. This was during a board meeting while updating the organization’s engagement strategy which used to be called the communications strategy. While I might want to roll my eyes debating different terms with similar meanings, words are important and setting the right intentions for how an organization communicates is critical to its success. Whether it’s called communications or engagement, two-way dialog or outreach, at the end of the day I am interested in how each of us shares and receives information about our city.

The city’s communication channels have expanded and been improved over the years. This Informer print publication has been updated, the website upgraded, weekly email newsletter expanded, social media, in its many forms, adopted, and a new community engagement site launched. The monthly coffee with a councilor started by Councilor Charis-Graves transitioned to new councilors, and next year, I hope to bring back the annual State of the City event.

City projects and planning efforts have continued using traditional channels such as neighborhood meetings. These are now supported by the Guiding Golden website to centralize information and ask questions or provide feedback. Having this site set up made a big difference when we moved to virtual meetings last year.

In some ways, moving online meant it was harder to connect because the informal, chance conversations didn’t occur. In other ways, it meant more communication opportunities as more people emailed comments and I attended more meetings then would have been possible in person. I tried new forms of information sharing such as weekly livestreams as well as new regional meetings convened with related groups.

Beyond formal meetings and official communications, as a new mayor I wanted to create space for conversation and casual connection. I was interested in new ways to be available and accessible to the community. I considered possibilities and reached out to other cities for ideas. I have learned about monthly brown bag lunches, a table at the farmer’s market, a monthly radio program, weekly office hours, “mornings with the mayor” live streams, and “move with the mayor” events. I hit pause last year and am now looking forward to working with our new communications director, Emily Gedeon, to try something new for the remainder of my term.

Here’s my ask of you, how would you like to connect with me? How would you like to share and receive information about our city? I am open to your ideas and suggestions. I continue to be available by email or phone and am happy to again be able to get together for a cup of coffee or a walk around town. I look forward to being invited to meetings with your groups whether it’s a nonprofit board, book club, or HOA. Listening to each other, sharing information, and exchanging ideas is how we can work together for the future of Golden. I can’t wait to hear from you.