reThink Roanoke is organizing it’s first Star City Summit on Tuesday, December 1, 2009, at The Water Heater, 813 5th Street SW in Old Southwest Roanoke.

Attendees should begin to gather at 7:45 PM with the forum to start around 8:00 PM. Maximum capacity is 100, so attendees are encouraged to register early by visiting reThinkRoanoke.org or the reThink Roanoke Facebook group. Participants are urged to bring floor pillows or camp chairs and to use some form of alternative transportation to get to the Summit (walk, bike, bus, or carpool).

Interested citizens are encouraged to follow the posts on reThinkRoanoke.org between now and December 1st for a preview of the issues the group hopes to discuss at The Water Heater.

Watch WDBJ7’s Bob Grebe interview reThink Roanoke organizers.

From Jeremy Holmes (reThink Roanoke organizer)

As we gear up for tonight’s Star City Summit, I thought I would take a moment to comment on the point where reThink Roanoke and political action intersect.  Since our announcement a few weeks ago both of this group and the Summit, there have been all kinds of rumors floating about:

• This is a new political party
• We’re trying to drum up new candidates
• This is an exploratory effort for a potential Council run by reThink’s organizers
• We’re unhappy with current leadership

I can assure you that none of these statements are true, but it has been interesting to see how this effort was so quickly categorized as a purely political endeavor – that is, political in the sense of getting a particular candidate elected, or promoting a particular political ideology through the electoral process (candidates don’t always run because they think they can win, sometimes they run to promote their viewpoint).  In short, an effort to gain some small amount of local political power.

Well, that’s true, to an extent.  We are a political group, but only in the most basic (and probably important) definition of the word:  The process by which a group of people make decisions.  That is, we don’t have a particular end in sight, but feel that the process of citizen engagement – of citizenship in general – has taken a back seat to single-issue political groups, rancorous political personalities, and general voter apathy.  Our political goal is really to get more people involve in political process: to increase voter turnout, to provide opportunities for more candidates to run (if they choose), and to identify, and try to reach consensus on, some key regional issues and hold our candidates and elected officials accountable to those positions.

I think it’s fair to say that when Roanoke gets mobilized it tends to be to stand against something.  There’s nothing wrong with that, of course; if citizens feel their government is making a wrong decision they should mobilize to voice their opinion, and they should expect their elected leaders to listen respectfully.  What I think we’re missing is a consistent voice for something; that is, a political endeavor that recognizes the value in our city, the amazing progress we have made, and the opportunities we haven’t capitalized on, while also recognizing its flaws and the opportunities we missed.  I suppose what I’m describing is really a holistic approach – examining the progress of the city as a whole rather than individual projects, and keeping citizens aware of and engaged in that progress.

The name of this group has conjured up some interesting images in peoples’ heads, leading them to believe we feel as if the city is on the wrong course.  Not at all.  There needs to be as much rethinking on the part of citizens regarding what services they really needs as there needs to be on the part of the city for what services they offer. Voters need to rethink their participation and awareness, and decide if they are voting for good leaders or for candidates who agree with them on one single issue.  And we need to rethink our attitude about our city – I’ve long thought that Roanoke has a self-esteem problem, and I hope that reThink Roanoke will help overcome that and encourage a renewal in an active, vital citizenry who are proud of our city and its accomplishments.