Ethan Orr: Here's how to hold your elected officials accountable

I believe that the government exists to serve and protect the rights of the individual and that that can only happen if individuals not only understand their personal value but learn the mechanisms of government.

Having served in the Arizona Legislature, worked for the cities of Tucson and South Tucson, and taught public policy at the University or Arizona, I have found some simple mechanisms that work for all of us in holding our elected officials accountable and shaping public policy.

At the Capitol, the constituent is the most important person.

It sounds like a cliché, but if you have a good representative, it is true.

When I was serving in the Legislature, I would always take a few minutes to meet with anyone who took the time to drive up from Tucson to visit the Capitol. The legislature is about legislating, but legislation is about people.

I have seen committee chairs step out of a meeting to greet a constituent because that person spent hours driving to visit them. With COVID restrictions, that is lot harder, but fortunately at Azleg.gov you can track specific bills, voice your support or opposition and even write comments about the bill.

At the end of the day, voters still hire and fire elected officials. Hold your elected officials accountable, and make sure that you are specific.

Hold your elected official accountable to specific points.

The more specific you are, the more accountable they can be. When I was at the Capitol, oftentimes I would have eight to 10 15-minute meetings in a row, covering issues from transportation to day care licensure.

If you ask a member, “Do you support my issue?” most of the time they will say yes. However, the goal of the legislature is to pass bills and create a budget, so when they say yes, follow the question with, “Does that mean that I can count on your support for this specific bill?”

Numbers Matter

At the start of my career, I was being trained to be a city manager, and one axiom of wisdom taught to me was that if you can’t count to four, you can’t lead the city. Without a majority of the city council, nothing gets done.

In Phoenix it is the same way. The most powerful numbers are 16 votes in the Senate, 31 votes in the House, and one governor. Without 16/31/ and 1, no legislation can pass. Find allies in other legislative districts; support your elected official in finding allies to pass the bill that you care about.

And ultimately, bridges last longer then bombs

As citizens, it is our job to solve community problems. Don’t look only to elected officials to solve a problem; help them solve it. Give them solutions and ideas. Don’t just expect government to do it for you; take ownership within our community.

This legislative session members will propose over 1,000 new bills, pass a $13 billion budget, and debate far-reaching proposals which could impact every person in Arizona.

Part of the genius of the American system is that separation of powers not only protects the rights of the individual, it requires us to work together and understand each other, in order to make meaningful policy. We are in the era of the empowered executive, making laws through administrative directives. This is neither healthy nor good.

Good policy requires understanding, insight and a willingness to listen and work with a wide variety of smart, passionate stakeholders to help challenge and shape it.

Last year, Gov. Doug Ducey faced criticism from both the right and the left over his administration’s handling of the COVID Crisis. Those criticisms were born of a failure to work with the vast diversity of Arizona, both politically and geographically.

The administration should have sat down to talk with the mayors and county supervisors even if they disagree; understanding the concerns of others is the hallmark of a good elected leader.

Additionally, numerous times legislative members asked for a special session to clarify the emergency powers of the executive, but all went unheeded. The governor did not call a special session.

This year, the governor has the opportunity to fix these mistakes. During this legislative session, the governor should support a bill clearly defining the role, timeline and mechanisms for declaring an emergency, including legislative oversight.

In the State of the State, the governor called for students to return to in-person classes. This can be done, but it must be done by meeting with teachers and district leaders and ensuring that schools and students have the resources to educate and protect students. This will not be done by punishing school districts, which have put forth herculean efforts to provide for online and hybrid education.

The governor, legislature and local officials all serve the same constituents, and it is time to stop blaming the other side for the failures of government and start living by the maxim that we can disagree without being disagreeable.

In the words of Constance Wu, “Public service is about serving all of the people, even the ones who are not like you.”