Representation

 In high school, I attended a summer program which looked at democratic representation from a mathematical standpoint.  As a 15 year old, I was to express an opinion on which method of apportionment was most fair.  Mathematics do not give a perfectly clear answer to that question so opinions on that question have some value.  How fair is the Electoral College system?  It is certainly a matter of opinion whether the two factors that should contribute to representation are statehood and population.  It seems to many that Idaho, Wyoming and Montana may be over-represented.

Aside from geography and population, how else might representation be determined?  Should there be representation based on other demographics-- age, race, income, education, area of study?  I could make the case for any of the above.  The more representative our representation is, the better they should represent us.  How does this work in practice?

Volunteers at Union Park District Council when I was there tended to be old, white, wealthy professionals who lived in houses.  The half who rent were not directly represented on the council.  People understood that we were not necessarily the same in all characteristics as those we represent but we pretended to represent them anyway.  Our failure, where we may have failed,  was in not having enough dialog with those in our neighborhoods with different opinions on subjects like development, transportation and how to make a business district successful.  Our failure, where we may have failed, was in not listening to enough of the voices of our diverse neighbors.

People did show up at meetings and did represent strong opinions.  People sometimes felt like they were the world's experts and therefore should be heard to the exclusion of others.  People sometimes felt like they were the impacted ones and everyone else was a fraud in a show.    People expressed ideas.  But, who showed up at the meetings?  

Most in the neighborhood had no idea that our council even existed.

Does adding people of color, younger people and people with different backgrounds improve the council?  It could.  The fundamental issue though is whether the representatives engage their diverse neighbors.  Justice Thomas checks the diversity box, but do his opinions represent diversity?

It feels like the US Senate, with all its 80 year olds, is less representative than it could be.  It feels like the Supreme Court is more cult than representative body as the Federalist Society demonstrates how a political fringe can dominate at governance. Most real people don't seem to identify as Republicans.  Most real people don't seem to identify as Democrats either.  How do you stock a neighborhood body such that it evaluates problems outside of a political lens?

If you could just choose twenty people at random to represent your neighborhood, you'd be better off in a sense.  Of course, of those twenty, you might not find even one willing to lead the organization.  If you do find a leader, you might find the willing leader is not a capable leader.

The problem with governance, whether at the neighborhood level or at the national level is accountability.   Though unrepresentative, the attorneys and other professionals have a deeper knowledge of organizations and process than many of us.  Also, people off the street willing to be held accountable for their neighborhood are rare.

The main issue once you do find people willing to accept the obligations of the role is lack of engagement in the broader community.  When people are tuned out, as most people usually are tuned out, organizations serve the privileged.  Unless people inside and outside the organization pay close attention, it is difficult to stop the focus from being those who want to focus on themselves at the expense of their neighbor.

People who care about institutions and ethics and accountability, George Washington-types, are what make democratic organizations work.

How would I make representation fair?  I don't think it is a math problem.  I think it is mostly a matter of creating good faith efforts toward making people aware of an organization's business.  District Councils strive the be ethical and equitable.  To demonstrate this, they need to document outreach.  Chuck Grassley might be known for extreme partisanship, but nonetheless, he continues to visit the 99 counties of Iowa regularly toward hearing varied points of view.  Organizations with people who focus on listening deserve credit, even from those who disagree.

If a representative organization  focuses on listening to people not generally heard, it is doing its job.