Sometimes engaging the public to participate in our government is like pulling teeth. Most people could care less how government works or how it reaches decisions, but then are the first in line when what government does affects their pocketbook or regulates their specific activity.
Bemidji, thankfully, has broken the mold. The Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored its third annual Bemidji Day at the Capitol on Tuesday, and it was the community's most successful to date. It drew more than 100 people to St. Paul, either on one of two buses or on their own, to meet with lawmakers to lobby for issues of importance to Bemidji.
Needless to say, the community's top issue was moved forward as it was announced to the delegation that $20 million in bonding for the Bemidji Regional Events Center would be included in the Legislature's capital bonding bill to be sent to Gov. Tim Pawlenty. It's a tentative agreement between House and Senate negotiators, but a solid step. Bonding committees in both chambers were haggling over the details of the full bill on Wednesday, but we're confident the final product will include Bemidji's request, then leaving its fate to the governor.
That aside, Bemidji Day at the Capitol is a wonderful venue to make legislators aware of a host of issues of importance to the community -- measures to help our timber industry, to improve state funding for school transportation, for Bemidji State University bonding projects, for state economic development programs that can directly aid local small business growth and development, and so on.
The presentation is also unique, with Bemidji citizen advocates dressed in lumberjack black-and-red plaid sweaters -- a Bemidji signature recognizable by all in the Capitol and adding visibility to our issues.
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Assistant House Majority Leader Frank Moe, DFL-Bemidji, points out another distinction. Bemidji Day is well-organized, with teams set up with appointments in advance to visit lawmakers or their staff, and to present succinctly a community agenda that is focused and well development. Other Minnesota cities have days at the Capitol, Moe says, but they end up being mostly party trips with a lot of people wondering around the Capitol.
Another key element of Bemidji's effort is that it includes a passel of students who join with community member to lobby and to learn. Hopefully, such an experience will reinforce a lifelong desire for civic involvement in our younger generation.
Next year, we urge Bemidjians to partake early and help identify the 2009 agenda of issues the community wants to coalesce around -- and then plan to carry those issues down to St. Paul.
