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These video statements were collected by St. Paul E-Democracy volunteers, at the Rondo Community Outreach Library, as part of their State of the City collaboration with the Mayor’s office.
An online Issues Forum is about more than the technology necessary to host an online discussion. A successful E-Democracy.Org Issues Forum is based upon local volunteers working in their community to connect their online discussion with existing processes for public participation and policy making.
Recently, the volunteers of St. Paul E-Democracy (myself included) demonstrated how a local Issues Forum can be part of a larger effort to create discussion in a community.
St. Paul E-Democracy volunteers partnered with the Mayor’s office to combine an online discussion with a series of face to face “town hall” meetings where members of the community were able to raise their concerns and publicly discuss the “state of the city.”
Mayor Chris Coleman invited participants of the St. Paul Issues Forum to raise questions and discuss the State of the City in the forum as part of a broader effort to engage the public. Later, Mayor Coleman recorded video responses to questions and issues submitted via the forum.
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To see additional responses by Mayor Coleman: