City of Sedona Council members with Vice Mayor Cliff Hamilton (far right)

Sedona AZ (December 25, 2010) – Trying to assess what people think about an issue or the “will of the people” is an essential component in making good City Council decisions. However, figuring out how to both gather that opinion and how to evaluate it are not easy tasks.

Gathering public opinion is usually a hit and miss endeavor. Seldom does the Council have any kind of statistically reliable poll showing what Sedona residents really think about a topic. It is usually done via the cumulative feel of all the various contacts we receive. Email, phone calls, testimony at council meetings, media articles, memory of past public discussions, face to face contacts, letters to the editor, information forwarded from city staff and various stakeholder meetings all combine to form an impression of what people think. At best, it’s an imperfect process.

Evaluating public opinion is often easier because there are really only two types: those based on personal values and those that depend on knowing the facts. A recent issue illustrates both types. Your opinion about which art piece you liked best for the “Y” roundabouts was purely about your personal taste in art. No facts were required to decide what appealed to you. But, there was also a separate fact-based issue about if there should be art in the roundabouts at all. That was decided apart from which art piece you liked best. The “if” question required investigating facts about safety, costs and Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) approvals. Opinions offered by those who were not well informed were not as useful as they could have been.

In the same way, opinions about transfer of west SR 89A to City ownership will be more helpful if you have first informed yourself on the facts. It’s important to learn about what ADOT is offering in the way of current and future funding, safety alternatives to streetlights, costs to the city, future funds available, city liability, consequences of not assuming road ownership, city plans for safety measures and advantages of self-determination. Sharing your opinion via listening sessions, answering opinion polls, phone calls, emails, letters, public testimony, etc. will have much more impact if your views and choices are informed ones.

This article submitted by the City of Sedona

Sometimes in our political world, we do mix both the personal value and informed choice opinion “poll” into one single decision. It’s called an election. Your vote counts like everyone else’s whether you are informed about the issues and candidates or not. So if you find yourself puzzling over why an election turned out the way it did, it likely has something to do with the mix of personal values and fact-based opinions that are involved.

But no matter what the situation is, you are always entitled to your own opinion.

Article written by Sedona Arizona Vice Mayor Cliff Hamilton (City Council Photo – Far Right) and submitted by the City of Sedona with the following disclaimer:  Opinions offered are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of other City Council members or city staff.

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