WHEN REFERENDUMS FAIL

Today, a group of citizens or powerful special interests can derail a wind farm from getting set up in Lake Michigan, a company from drilling in their backyard or even a financial manager from stepping in to improve their community.

Legislators should be problem solvers, facilitators and conveners of issues vital to their state. Yet in Detroit and throughout the State of Michigan, we still cannot accomplish enough to move the state forward. Perhaps it is a result of term-limits or maybe the changing politics in the State.

Policymakers can avoid making difficult decisions on controversial issues by creating a process by which public policy disputes can be resolved.  Through a facilitated consensual process, issues such as consent agreements, transit, new infrastructure projects, transit and councils-by-district can be avoided and we can all move on to other issues to help our city, state and nation move forward.

If we just talk earlier and learned about the real issues underlying the bigger ones, than perhaps today, we would be talking more about baseball or going to the lake, instead about a bridge, minimum wage, casinos, wolves, debt ceilings or transit. It is time we all work together to help Michigan Move Forward and find a better way at resolving  public policy disputes. 

Daniel Cherrin

DANIEL CHERRIN |served the City of Detroit as its Communications Director and the Press Secretary to Detroit Mayor, Ken Cockrel, Jr. He is a public relations + affairs specialist who just happens to be a lawyer, with 20 years of experience providing senior public relations and government relations’ counsel to organizations on state and federal regulatory and legislative matters, as well as issues affecting corporate and individual reputation, crisis management and the media. Daniel is the founder of NORTH COAST STRATEGIES (Est. 2005) an independent public relations consultancy that combines the best of a big agency with hands-on executive-level experience and support. As a signatory company to the United Nations Global Compact, we are dedicated to addressing issues around human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption. We are also focused on redefining your brand and changing the conversation to create an impact.