The People of Ely are just regular folks in Ely, MN, who believe in democracy of, by and for the people. Government should represent all of us. Government should unite us, not divide us. That’s why we have so-called non-partisan elections for local government, right?
We the people believe in the spirit of democracy. Just believing isn’t enough.
We need to educate ourselves, vote, and participate in other meaningful ways, including volunteering and even running for office or actively supporting those who do.
Government should also believe in the spirit of democracy. Government’s actions should always reflect their focus on Us the People, all of us folks.
Ely needs more than a Master City Code, a City Charter, and a dog-eared copy of Robert’s Rules of Order.
(Where is that book anyway?) Our city needs to adopt detailed codes of ethics, standards of behavior, conflicts of interest, and open meeting laws. We the People want transparency, accountability, accessibility, fairness, and respect.
Recently, we felt the City was running counter to its purpose of serving all of us by the rules.
We started observing carefully and asking questions, such as: Where are the rules anyway? Who’s (not) representing us behind the scenes and before decisions are made? Why isn’t “access” defined by public interests and needs? Why don’t official minutes match what was actually said in meetings? What really made them decide to push for something we didn’t want? And so forth . . .
After sharing our experiences, we started taking action with pens, cameras and social media.
Citizen volunteers for transparency are now recording several Ely City Council and Commission meetings, because many things need to change. Please take the time to view some of the YouTube recordings we’ve posted on the page “Recordings.” As you listen, scroll down to the “study guides” right below the video. Our volunteers donated hours of their time, because they believe in the spirit of democracy. Please take a few moments to watch any highlighted notes. Sit back and also enjoy the many good things and good people we have here in Ely, MN.
Please bear with us as we build this our website, Ely Politics.