It is a strange thing – Iam a “listening mayor”. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t attend one or more community events, today I am attending at least three. When I am out in the community, I don’t just shake hands, I listen. And yet I am still accused in the press that I don’t listen!
As I reflected on this, I would like to speculate what the reason might be. I think they confuse listening and doing. (Please have a look at my previous post on the listening process in the context of a city).
Let me take a fictitious example to illustrate the point. A person stops me at an event and tells me “my neighbour has this horrible tree and it is now so big it blocks my view.” If the tree is still there tomorrow, then I am have not listened! But I did – I will try and find out if the tree is legal or not.
In other words, if the City does not do what the particular individual or group want to have done, or stop being done, then the City (and I as mayor by extension) has not listened.
In the first place I always try to listen and understand the person or group’s point of view, and will pass it on to the appropriate channels. But when it comes to doing, as mayor I cannot do anything! There is a democratic process in place for getting things done in a city.
Maybe what you want done has been put on the To Do list, maybe there just isn’t money in the budget for it right now – or maybe many other people do not agree with what you want done.
So get to understand how things are done in a city – but don’t accuse me of not listening!
