About 100 years ago, a populist Republican Governor here in California believed that the stranglehold of special interests in the capitol could be broken if the people had more say in their government.
Hiram Johnson knew that his belief in accountability and transparency were the populist key to seeing more government. Indeed, he knew it would lead to a state liberated from the grips of powerful political groups and parties in Sacramento.
Johnson’s legacy was a state that had the most direct democratic system in the country. His reforms included the initiative, recall and referendum processes. Against vested interests across the state, he stood with the people, and ultimately against his party, when it became clear that it had strayed from its promise to serve the people of California. To illustrate the gravity of Johnson’s opposition in these efforts, the reforms he instituted broke the back of the railroads that literally owned and ran the state government.
Today, as our state wrestles with the same stifling control of our government by a few powerful and monied interests, the spirit of Governor Johnson’s promise arises anew with the advent of technology. The more people are involved in their government, the less likely it is to be owned by any special interest – and technology makes this possible in a way unseen in generations, or perhaps ever.
Last week, the League of Cities launched a new website, www.saveyourcity.net. In a way never tried in the California political arena, this site allows mayors, councilmembers and interested citizens to be active participants in the budget debate.
The website allows visitors to upload video, which is then automatically sent to the Governor and the legislators representing them in Sacramento. Ironically, it launched at the same time that the legislature held "public hearings" on borrowing funds from local government, taking testimony only from a handful of lobbyists.
Through this platform, hundreds of mayors and councilmembers have communicated directly with their legislators — even as they tried to restrict those same voices from being heard in the Capitol.
Within days of its launch the site made national news as an innovative technology that promises greater involvement of the public in policy debate. Hundreds of videos have been uploaded — including testimony by candidates for Governor and members of the state assembly.
This small, but powerful example represents the promise of technology as a means to decentralize power from Sacramento. It may even be the catalyst for broad reforms that so many are discussing throughout the state.
Our firm, GrassrootsLab, is committed to using new technologies to engage the public in their state’s governance. Clearly, we believe that video will play a large and impactful role in electoral campaigns and in the way policy is advocated in the Capitol, and beyond.
What’s the next step? In the very near future, technology will exist to efficiently distribute and download petitions for initiatives — dramatically decreasing the price for qualifying measures on the statewide ballot. Though the concept of “citizen’s initiative” is widely invoked, in practice it takes millions of dollars in paid signature gathering and high-priced consultants to place a measure on the statewide ballot. If petitions can be easily distributed online, this could destroy that barrier – and in the process, we believe, dramatically increase accountability in our state legislature.
But, just as the railroads fought Hiram Johnson a century ago in a desperate attempt to preserve power, so are groups opposing these modern advocacy tools. Not surprisingly, those groups are those that scream the loudest about an "initiative system that is out of control". For them, we suppose, it is.
But we know, as Hiram Johnson did, that the more people are engaged, aware of, and involved in their government — the smaller, more transparent and accountable it becomes.