In Minneapolis ’ 2013 mayoral subspecies , 35 candidate had their chapeau in the ring . Unlike most U.S. towns , Minneapolis used a place - pick voting system , where each person vote for his top candidate rather than vote for one candidate out of a choice few that made it to the voting from special political political party . It ’s merely not possible to study what you need to know about each candidate ’s take on issues authoritative to you — shipping , housing issue , environmental issues — individually , so various groups hold candidate forums , including a forum for urban land and local food .
Eight of the city ’s top mayoral prospect were invited — one had a prior loyalty on that day but another ask to link up — and 200 community members showed up to theUrban Agriculture Mayoral Forumto hear what these candidates had to say about the future of food for thought in their city . It grow out to be the largest particular - interest meeting place hold during that Minneapolis mayoral election period . To be inclusive of the diverse population in Minneapolis , the forum and corresponding materials were translated into three other languages .
Minneapolis is n’t the only city to have done this , but they join the ranks of just a few — San FranciscoandNew Yorkamong them . Mayoral - candidate forums were held in each of these cities , and San Francisco also held theYour food for thought , Your Vote Forumin 2014 for the two candidates of the California State Assembly District 17 race , who were both serving public power on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors at the time .
As you ’ll read here , host a forum is a lot of body of work — the all - voluntary crew in Minneapolis put in more than nine months of endeavor to make their forum materialize — but the Minneapolis and San Francisco personal organizer , at least , say it was deserving it . In Minneapolis , the new mayor is a local - food assistant , and six of the 12 city council seats were filled with new council appendage , ousting several council members who were fight to urban farming . Forum organiser Russ Henry say there used to be just one council citizens committee working on local - food issues , but now item-by-item council members are spearhead their own urban - agriculture and local - food efforts .
“ I just ca n’t overdraw how much alteration was catalyze through the work that we did on the questionnaire and forum , ” read Henry , who is also co - chair of the Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council .
After the San Francisco mayoral election , the musical passage ofAssembly Bill AB 551created Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones in the city , and an urban agriculture political program coordinator office was created in the city ’s Recreation and Parks Department .
This sounds like a dream scenario for urban - farming community everywhere , and it ’s entirely potential to host a forum in your city or township , lift your farming and intellectual nourishment - organization issues in the oculus of politicians and community members and shaping a skillful future for them . Here are some crown to prepare for this Brobdingnagian undertaking .
1. Don’t Procrastinate
As with any event , keep in creative thinker that it ’ll take time to betroth the residential district , do your research and find the veracious moderator for the job .
“ It is helpful to begin plan early , as in several calendar month before the factual event — which you will desire to schedule several weeks before the actual election , ” enounce Keith Tanner , co - coordinator of the San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance . “ There are many logistical constituent the day of the event , and though we had about a half - dozen individuals involve for months in provision , we had to muster in the supporter of many more volunteer the 24-hour interval of . ”
2. Do Your Research
Before the forum , Henry brought together urban farmers to develop five questions to send to everyone running for mayor , a metropolis council seat and a blot on the city park circuit board . These five query mother down to the heart of what the urban - husbandry residential district wanted to bonk and put up a springboard for the mayoral - candidate meeting place . prospect ’s responses were posted online , too , for anyone to get at afterward .
Henry say the prospect were willing to leave answers , pick up this as a mode to interact with yet another demographic . Jane Shey , coordinator of the Homegrown Minneapolis local - food programme at the time the meeting place was being held , points out that candidates less willing to participate will experience pressured to respond once a few people get down answering .
enquiry does n’t have to come in the form of a questionnaire . For exercise , in San Francisco ’s Your Food , Your Vote assembly , there were no pre - forum interrogation , but a working group made of representative from the San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance , the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture and the SF - Marin Food Bank collaborate on topics and question important to each radical for the discussion .
“ This helped provide a many-sided element to the meeting place , as each mathematical group brought an equal telephone number of head to the meeting place that reverberate the specific interests of their component , while way was left for additional questions to come from the hearing , as well , ” Tanner says .
3. Convince Them You’re Worth It
By doing the questionnaire first and then the assembly , the urban - farming buzz was build around Minneapolis . “ [ campaigner ] watch it affected a great number of voters , and it was an issue they want to be need in , ” Henry says .
Engagement from all areas of the urban - farming and local - food community is essential , both in showing the candidates that your causal agency is worth their attending and in bringing all facet of food and farm issues to the forefront . “ You do n’t want to have an urban - agriculture meeting place and have 10 people show up because that give the wrong feeling , and the candidates will cogitate , I can squander these people off , ” Shey say . While she was n’t involved in prepare the result because of her function as a consultant with the city of Minneapolis , Shey remembers one candidate stating during his opening input , “ I do n’t know much about [ urban Department of Agriculture ] , but I ’m going to learn about it , ” based on the packed forum crowd .
4. Align With Other Community Groups
By jurisprudence , 501(c)(3 ) nonprofits can not choose political side . TheIRS tax codeis pretty clear about this . Yet involvement in a forum that is being gift in a balanced fashion is OK . Still , while employees of urban - agriculture and local - food nonprofits did volunteer to attend with the Minneapolis cognitive process , they did not do so on ship’s company time .
In both Minneapolis and San Francisco , it was local organizations that helped pull in assembly attendant .
“ We spread the word through a number of ways , ” Tanner says . “ We had special aid from those at CUESA and their communications team , who did an excellent job promoting and getting the countersign out through their societal medium platforms like Twitter . Each of the three lead organizations encourage the outcome heavily to their own members , through electronic mail reminders and direct communications at encounter . A key form of support and communication came through the body of work of supporting organizations . These partners , all working on local - food and -agriculture number , further the event to their followers and penis , through course such as email , Twitter and Facebook . They were invited to have a table presence at the event and have their group ’s logotype let in in the case banner and web site as a stomach organization . ”
5. Keep Questions Simple
You do n’t desire to keep the great unwashed at the meeting place all night , but you want everyone to come aside feeling like they learn something about the campaigner ’ views on the future of significant payoff in the community .
“ We know we ask to keep dubiousness and answers succinct , to have some structure through bias questions , and to have some tractability and spontaneousness with questions pose by the hearing , ” Tanner state . This facilitated moments of stringent debate among the assembly . “ I do think some of the question were especially relevant and pressing , considering what was transpiring in the city and certain political result that were coming up on the November ballot . This include the propose shekels - sweetened beverage tax , the drought and the high cost of living in the city , ” ( He suggestswatchingorlisteningto the San Francisco Your Food , Your Vote assembly online . )
While your assembly ’s aim should n’t be to embarrass anyone , it should get down the to heart of your biotic community ’s urban - agriculture and local - solid food questions .
6. Do What You Can Do
If your city has never hosted an urban - ag meeting place before , do n’t retrieve you have to bite off a magnanimous upshot all at once .
“ If you do n’t recollect you are quick to contain a meeting place , produce questionnaires is a great intermediate footprint , ” Tanner says . “ We spoke with other similar groups throughout California , and though some were ineffective to hold a assembly , they establish questionnaires very powerful tools . They take more about the campaigner , but perhaps even more significantly , the candidates became more conversant with their group and have since come near the organiser for recommendations on cardinal issue . ”
Anything you’re able to do will facilitate to raise cognisance about the nutrient issue in your residential area ; plus , the candidates will likely see a welfare . “ The folk who are most politically astute see urban farming and local solid food as a bring home the bacon issue , ” Henry order . “ Everyone eats , so it ’s not as though this is some special interest . ”
