City Hall should be as transparent as possible. Finding information about city government should be a simple internet search. I think the mayor of Somerville tries to get city information online, but there is much that remains offline.

People should not have to attend meetings to learn what happens at City meetings. Interested citizens should be able to learn about what happens at meetings with a simple internet search. City politicians may prefer meeting offline, but I doubt all citizens prefer such meetings.

I want to meet online, and I want to communicate with city politicians online. I don’t like offline meetings, particularly offline meetings in the evening. City Hall seems to think everyone prefers meeting offline in the evening.

With the upcoming election, I hope we get politicians who make proper use of the Internet. I hope we get a city government that tries to put as much information online as possible. I hope people demand a government that uses available resources as best they can.

Jon Curtis