[nfbwatlk] FW: Organizing for Seattle: the update

[Jacob Struiksma]

Hey everyone--

Thanks again for signing up for OFS, and I hope to see as many of you as
possible at the meeting on Sunday! It's going to be from 5 to 8pm at the
Miller Community Center; let me know if your Evite didn't reach you.

There's been some discussion back and forth about the nature of the group
going forward, and a general consensus has emerged to proceed as a
grassroots advocacy organization, based around driving a specific policy
agenda at the neighborhood and community level. Education has been suggested
as the initial focus point simply because it impacts so many other areas of
public life, but we'll talk more about that at the meeting on Sunday.

Due to my role at the city I'll be unable to take part in the group going
forward, but I will be there on Sunday to start things off and then hand
over control of the meeting to some OFS members who have stepped up to plan
and execute this first meeting. 

There will still be plenty of room for discussion and input, but the time
for action has come--be prepared to leave Sunday's kickoff meeting with a
concrete set of action items based around engaging with your fellow
Organizing for Seattle members and your local neighborhood groups and
community members off-line over the course of the next month.

On the broad-brush civic engagement side of things, I'm still settling into
my role as Community Engagement Coordinator for the city, but starting next
week some time I should be ready to start doing 1:1's with anyone who's
interested in talking to me in my office at City Hall--please send me an
E-mail at sol.villarreal at seattle.gov if you're interested in getting into
the new system I'll be creating through the city. There's also going to be
an open house at City Hall this Saturday, January 9th from 1-5pm; if you've
never been before, it'll be a great opportunity to see the place from the
inside out...and admire the view from Mike's office :)

Thanks again for everything that each of you has done and is continuing to
do for the city of Seattle; I think Organizing for Seattle has a virtually
unlimited amount of potential, and I'll be excited to watch it proceed from
afar. It belongs equally to each of you on this list...so I know it's in
good hands.

Sol Villarreal
Community Engagement Coordinator
City of Seattle
206-233-2656
sol.villarreal at seattle.gov