I spent my day today in Arizona as the guest of the Arizona City/County Management Association. I was a guest speaker at their annual winter conference in Sedona. My subject: local government blogs, of course.
It was -10F when I got into my car this morning to drive to the airport in Minneapolis. It was 80F in Phoenix late this afternoon. It felt good to warmed by the sun, and by the enthusiastic audience at our conference session. Despite the fact that we were competing against a city manager golf tournament, we had an excellent turnout for our mid afternoon session.
I gave what is now my standard blog presentation. I’ve given a few times before. I like to do it. I don’t think I get many converts, but that’s not really the point. The point is to explain how sharing more information with our residents is better than not sharing. I do it through a blog, but there are many ways to accomplish the same goal. Maybe someone will get the spirit of the presentation and be inspired to open up more to their citizens. Whether they do it through a blog or not is not really important, at least in my opinion.
Special Note: Congratulations to the USA men’s national soccer team on their 2-0 win over their arch-rivals Mexico tonight. The game took place right here in the Phoenix metro area. I drove out to the stadium thinking I would try to catch the game. Not a chance. No tickets. No place to park. It was complete and total sell out. But most importantly – a victory for the USA. Congrats boys!
