A public official is as a public official does!

The best way to distinguish between a public servant who is elected to serve and a self-serving elected official whose goal is to self his or herself is to listen carefully to what they say but, of more importantly, watch what they do, the policies they push, their communication with their constituents, and their response to you, the voter, when you call them with issues affecting you that they have the power to address.

How many times have you called your representative only to get a gatekeeper who takes a message, but nothing happens? How often have you called an elected official you voted for and can never get a personal call, ever? Never, never? That’s a self-serving elected official.

How many times have you seen the people you voted for in your neighborhood? Not their campaign workers during a campaign, but the actual officials at, say, a town hall meeting at your local library, church, or other locations?

In the midst of this viral pandemic, it really isn’t wise for anyone to make public appearances, assemble large gatherings, etc. So, it’s understandable that personal appearances can’t happen at the moment. But there are always written communications, like newsletters or legislative reports. How many of those have you received from your elected representatives? Or social media accounts and emails that legislators and other public officials, who were elected to represent you, can use for direct contact are good methods of communications. Announcements via media is another communication channel but it depends on people seeing and hearing the announcements or reading it in the local newspaper.

The advent of social media and Internet news sites where local newspapers can post news in real time make communicating with constituents easier than in the past. Nonetheless, many public servants do go the extra mile of trying to reach constituents by any means necessary.

There are some, however, who are posting to FB and Twitter, Instagram, etc., to communicate with constituents. However, old fashioned email, direct snail mail columns in your local newspapers, especially the Black press, in a city that is predominately black, and Zoom sessions are the best ways to reach the people who elected you to serve them.

New Orleans newly elected District Attorney Jason Williams’ Transition Team last week took advantage of the Zoom meetings which have grown in popularity as a way to community and meet constituents.

The Transition Team held five days of virtual meetings that covered various topics and opened the meetings up for feedback from the community. At least 45 people attended the first session which focused on Enhance Police Accountability. On the call were community leaders, civil rights activists, lawyers, a retired policeman and the director of a nonprofit that runs a re-entry program for formerly incarcerated individuals.

Other sessions focused on Disrupting the School to Prison Pipeline, Ending Mass Incarceration, Rebuilding Public Trust and Transparency and Protecting Vulnerable Communities.

The Transition Team will use the community’s feedback as part of a report that will be presented to DA Williams next month.

The Listening Sessions offered a channel of communications to hear from the communities that the DA’s office will serve. One citizen on the call asked if DA Williams would be present on any calls. The Transition Team member said he wouldn’t be in these Zoom meetings but that an area is being set up on the DA’s website and social media pages to gather feedback on the communities concerns.

The Louisiana Weekly hopes that other elected officials will follow the District Attorney’s lead and hold Zoom Listening Sessions. But we also hope that the feedback is used to create policies that are fair and just to underserved citizens.

This article originally published in the January 25, 2021 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.