"Localocracy is coming to South Hadley"

Friday, June 11, 2010
 
Localocracy is coming to South Hadley. The online website, which provides a public forum for residents to discuss issues facing their hometown, was recently endorsed by the Selectboard and is in the process of trying to gather enough participants to launch a test site before opening operations to the entire community.

The website, founded by Conor White-Sullivan and Aaron Soules, both students at the University of Massachusetts, was launched earlier this year in Amherst after the pair received a $10,000 Innovation Challenge grant from the university. The group's expansion into South Hadley comes after the duo received a second Innovation Challenge grant - this time totaling $12,500.

"Localocracy is a site where registered voters can vote on real issues and rank the best reasons for supporting their side," White-Sullivan said. "It is a platform for the entire community where everyone can see both sides of the issue."

The organization decided to establish a South Hadley site at the request of the town, which was looking for a way to promote respectful dialogue following the suicide of South Hadley High School freshman Phoebe Prince in January, White-Sullivan said.

"I was attracted to the feature that requires each person to identify themselves by name," Selectboard Vice Chairman Bob Judge said. He argued that websites and blogs where readers can post anonymous comments have poisoned debate in South Hadley.

"Anybody who is going to put their name out there, I would hope, will think about what they say: Do I want to call someone stupid or lay blame, for instance."

Localocracy is looking for 50 members of the community to participate in a test site that will help determine how the South Hadley site will be run, White-Sullivan said. Once that process is complete, a public site will be established for the entire community.

On the organization's Amherst site, a particular subject of debate is posted. Users then write their comments about that issue, and other users rank those comments according to how much they agree with them. The most popular comments appear at the top of the page.

"This is just another vehicle of communication, and the more vehicles the better," said Judge.
Individuals interested in participating in the project can contact contact@localocracy.org or selectboard@southhadley.org. The organization is online at www.localocracy.org.

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Selectboard Seeks Opinions through "Localocracy”

June, 2, 2010
South Hadley, MA--- The South Hadley Selectboard has endorsed an experiment to obtain opinions from residents.

Selectboard Chair John Hine announced that at its May 18 meeting, the Board endorsed a trial of http://localocracy.org for South Hadley.

According to Vice-Chair Robert Judge, the website drew a story on local public radio and has been endorsed by the Amherst Town Manager and State Senator Stan Rosenberg.

The founders of Localocracy, Conor White-Sullivan and Aaron Soules, presented the idea to the S. Hadley Selectboard at the May meeting.  “There appeared to be a consensus on the Board and in the audience that we should take the next step,” said Hine.  That next step is to get at least 50 S. Hadley residents with an email address to agree to participate in the trial or “beta,” as it is known. 

According to White-Sullivan, "We want to create a way not just to distribute ideas but to allow citizens to find the best ideas and have a voice themselves." The idea is to set up a nonpartisan site that poses questions on local issues and accepts opinions from readers. But unlike some blogs and local Web sites, those responders must use their real names and be residents of the town. Participants will be able to rank others' ideas so that viewers can tell which arguments other readers have found persuasive.

Judge said, “On the internet, most people would prefer a place where they can know they are interacting with people who have a real stake in their community, and not an anonymous screen name representing someone who may not live here.”

The Amherst site can be viewed at http://localocracy.com Any South Hadley resident who would like to participate in the South Hadley trial should send an email to Selectboard@SouthHadley.org.